Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho set to miss start of season in blow to boss Jurgen Klopp
France international ruled out of beginning of campaign despite being cleared to play after being banned for taking fat-burning drugs after Manchester United clash last season
MAMADOU SAKHO will miss the start of the season – even though he has been cleared to play after his drugs ban.
The Liverpool defender has been sidelined since March, when he tested positive for a fat burning pill after the Europa League tie at Manchester United.
He was finally given the green light to play again when UEFA dropped proceedings against him last Friday.
The legal fall-out from that is rumbling on – yet Sakho will sit out the big kick-off at Arsenal regardless, as he is still struggling with a damaged Achilles.
The Frenchman suffered the injury shortly before he was initially suspended, and has been having treatment during his absence.
Yet he is still far from 100 per cent and it could be up to a month into the new campaign before he can play again.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp revealed: “He had a little issue with his Achilles when he was playing, one day on, one off, this kind of thing.
“When he had his little ‘break,’ he used the time to have a little bit of treatment and that now means another three or four weeks before he can train again.
“There was no surgery, he is just not about to train at the moment.
";He has got some rehab of course and it’s not too good a situation for him, us, everybody.
“He’s not available at the moment but he is doing rehab. We will see how he reacts to that and then when he can play again.”
Sakho could still face a legal battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency, who are considering whether to challenge UEFA’s ruling that the slimming pill he took was not on their banned list.
Klopp himself is not commenting on the issue.
He said: “I don’t know exactly what will happen now from Mama’s side or UEFA’s side.
“But as a human being I can say it’s a sad story. He didn’t play now for three and a half months.
“That’s obviously not really cool but we all know is that doping is a very, very serious thing and we cannot have that.”