Jurgen Klopp admits star player could still miss the start of next season due to the Olympics

Liverpool are now certain to win the Premier League this season, so in some ways they should already be focusing on readying themselves to retain it next year.

Next season should be a much tougher test, you have to expect that their rivals will catch up, their own form will suffer eventually and they might have to go without Mo Salah to start the season.

This comes after a report from AS indicated that Salah could still take part for Egypt as an overage player at the Olympic games in the Summer, with Jurgen Klopp admitting it’s a possibility.

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They suggest that clubs were not obliged by FIFA to release their players to participate in the 2016 games, so it could be interesting to see what happens if Liverpool and Egypt want different things.

A report from Sportsbible last year indicated that he would miss the whole of the pre-season and possibly the first week of the Premier League season if he does take part, which could cause multiple problems.

You have to think he would need some kind of rest afterwards so he could miss even more time, and no one knows how long it might take for him to get back up to speed again.

It’s always great as a club fan to see your player do great things on the international stage, but Liverpool fans might be hoping that he quietly makes himself unavailable for this.