Mo Salah back with Liverpool squad but Reds regular misses training ahead of Marseille showdown | OneFootball

Mo Salah is set to be involved in the Liverpool squad for their Champions League clash against Marseille on Wednesday night, but one of his teammates could be doubtful for the fixture.

The 33-year-old has linked up with his club once more after missing their last seven matches due to his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where he scored four goals in helping Egypt to finish fourth in the tournament.

It remains to be seen whether he’ll go straight back into the starting XI, having not been selected by Arne Slot from the first whistle in nearly two months, and having given an explosive post-match interview after the 3-3 draw at Leeds in early December.

Salah trains with Liverpool but Konate absent

Liverpool’s players were put through their paces at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday lunchtime prior to flying out to France, and James Pearce posted a 30-second video clip on X which shows Salah partaking in the session.

The Athletic journalist also explained why Ibrahima Konate wasn’t seen in Kirkby earlier, reporting that the defender is ‘back in France for family reasons’ and that it ‘remains to be seen whether he links up with the squad in Marseille’.

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Great that Salah is back; hopefully all is OK with Ibou

With Jamie Carragher among those who’ve been lamenting Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge in attack of late, Salah’s return from AFCON could be quite timely for the Reds as they seek to take a significant step closer to finishing in the top eight of the league phase of the Champions League and advancing directly to the round of 16.

The Egyptian has been quite subdued by his own stratospheric standards this season, with just five goals in his last 20 matches for his club, but a four-goal haul in Morocco ensures that he’s returned to Merseyside in the kind of scoring form we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him over the years.

His return is most welcome, but Konate’s possible absence for the Marseille game could leave Slot with only two senior centre-backs in his squad for the fixture at the Stade Velodrome.

However, the 26-year-old’s welfare is obviously the priority right now, and whatever the precise family reason might be, we hope everything is OK with him and those closest to him; and we look forward to seeing him back with Liverpool when the time is appropriate, if he doesn’t return for tomorrow’s match.

The full travelling squad is set to be officially confirmed by the club later this afternoon.

You can watch footage of Liverpool’s training session below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: