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Jurgen Klopp defends Liverpool transfer policy after Sadio Mane's season-ending injury leaves Reds short

The Senegal international limped out of the win over Everton last weekend and following extensive medical tests has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign

Mike Whalley
Friday 07 April 2017 12:55 BST
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Sadio Mane will now miss the rest of Liverpool's season
Sadio Mane will now miss the rest of Liverpool's season

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed criticism of his transfer policy in the wake of Sadio Mane's season-ending knee injury.

The Senegal international limped out of the win over Everton last weekend and following extensive medical tests has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with Klopp "pretty sure" he will require surgery.

Losing such an influential player - Liverpool have failed to win any of the five Premier League games the forward has failed to start this term - is an undoubted blow to the Reds' hopes of a top four finish.

But Klopp rejects the idea that his team are suffering because he did not sign any players during the January transfer window.

“I would love to replace a player who is injured with someone of exactly the same quality, maybe his brother or his twin.

“But having too many players is not good, because you kill development for players.

“In this moment, we have not enough experienced players so we have to replace them with youth, but in this moment, we can’t change it, so why should I think about this?”

Liverpool have suffered a lot of injuries to key players this season, but Klopp has made clear that is nothing to do with either the intense style of play or a congested fixture list that hit the club during January.

He pointed out that serious injuries to Coutinho, sustained against Sunderland in November, and to Mane last weekend were both the result of challenges rather than muscle problems.

Mane's injury is a big blow to Liverpool's top four hopes (Getty)

He said: “The injuries are not because of intensity. Intensity is nothing to do with Hendo’s injury, maybe Lallana’s was but we could not have influence on this.

“Phil’s was a challenge, and it is the same with Sadio. We learn from all of these things but we cannot influence this at this moment. We learn from all the experiences.”

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