Jürgen Klopp ready to risk Sadio Mane against Chelsea in bid to keep Liverpool title hopes alive

Mane only returned to Liverpool training on Tuesday after being delayed in his flight back from the African Cup of Nations

Jurgen Klopp will make a late call on Sadio Mane's inclusion in Liverpool's Premier League clash with Chelsea (Getty)

Jürgen Klopp is ready to risk Sadio Mane despite his late return from the African Cup of Nations in an effort to maximise Liverpool’s chances of victory against Chelsea on Tuesday afternoon and maintain their Premier League title hopes.

Mane’s absence has coincided with Liverpool’s dreadful run of form that has seen them claim just one victory in seven matches, and as a result they have crashed out of the EFL Cup and FA Cup and are slipping away in the Premier League title race.

Since his £34m arrival from Southampton last summer, Mane has proven one of the form players in the league and made an immediate impact as he masterminded the comeback victory over Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season, going on to contribute nine goals in 21 appearances.

But while his return would prove a welcome boost for Liverpool ahead of Tuesday’s visit of the league leaders to Anfield, Mane was delayed in his return to Merseyside and, as a result, saw his participation in the match put in doubt.

Mane was due to return from Senegal’s African Cup of Nations campaign at the weekend after the club commissioned a private jet for the forward, but it was not given take-off clearance and he instead flew out of Gabon with the rest of the Senegal team and spent an extra day in Africa.

He returned to the club’s Melwood training base on Tuesday morning, with Liverpool flying a physiotherapist out to Africa to assess him before his flight back to the United Kingdom yesterday, and Klopp revealed that he will make a late call on Mane over whether he will be included in the matchday squad.

“We have to make a decision,” said Klopp. “We have to look in his eyes and see whatever is possible. The club did an outstanding job to bring him back. We thought it would be possible.

“We had a plane there but he was not allowed to go so we had to wait.”

He added: “He is kind of an option for the Chelsea game — a very good player back for selection, and that can only be good news.”

It was Mane’s missed penalty that led to Senegal’s elimination at the hands of Cameroon in the quarter-finals in a 5-4 shootout defeat, but while Klopp expressed his sadness that it was one of his players who missed the crucial effort, the silver lining was that he returned early to Liverpool’s squad.

“I wish not for one second he missed the penalty at the end — but it happened so he is coming back,” Klopp said.