Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he has “no idea” if striker Mo Salah will play for the club again, but left the door open for the Egyptian to return.
Salah said he “was thrown under the bus” this weekend after being left on the bench against Leeds United.
It was the third game in a row that Salah did not start – and he did not travel to Milan.
Slot said: “I don’t feel that my authority has been shaken. That’s not how I feel. I firmly believe that there is always a possibility of a return for a player.
“It’s not about me, whether my life is difficult, yes or no, it’s not very important in a situation like this.
“It’s if it’s more difficult for the team and for the club. Nobody likes us to be in the situation we are in at the moment.
“This is neither the first nor the last time that a player has been emotional and said something. My reaction is clear and that he is not there.
“Usually I’m calm and polite but that doesn’t mean I’m weak and if a player says it’s up to me to react and he’s not there.
“I have no idea [if he will play again]I cannot answer this question at this point.
Salah has scored 250 goals for Liverpool since signing from Roma in 2017, but has only scored five in 19 games this season.
Salah comments “a shame”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called Salah’s comments a “disgrace” and questioned whether the Egyptian superstar would play for the club again.
Speaking on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “I thought it was a shame what he did after the game.
“Some people have described it as an emotional outburst – I don’t think that’s the case. I think every time Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it’s a choreography with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
“He chose this weekend to do this now, and he waited for, I think, a bad result… everyone involved in the club (feels) like they’re in the gutter, and he chose this moment to lash out at the manager and maybe try to get him sacked.”
