Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he has ‘no clue’ if forward Mo Salah will play for the club again but left the door open for the Egyptian to return.
Salah said he ‘had been thrown under the bus’ at the weekend after being left on the bench against Leeds United.
It was the third match in a row Salah did not start – and he has not travelled to Milan.
Slot said: “I don’t feel that my authority has been undermined. It’s not the way I feel it. I’m a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player.
“It’s not about me, if my life is difficult, yes or no, that’s not very important in a situation like this.
“It’s if it is more difficult for the team and for the club. No one likes us to be in the situation we’re in at the moment.
“It is not the first or last time a player is emotional and says something. My reaction is clear and that that he is not here.
“Usually I am calm and polite but that doesn’t mean I am weak and if a player says that it is is up to me to react and he is not here.
“I have no clue [if he will play again], I cannot answer that question at this period in time.”
Salah has scored 250 goals for Liverpool since signing from Roma in 2017, but has just five in 19 games this season.
Salah comments ‘a disgrace’
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called Salah’s comments “a disgrace” and questioned whether the Egyptian superstar will play for the club again.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.
“Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst – I don’t think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it’s choreographed with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
“He’s chosen this weekend to do this now, and he’s waited I think for a bad result…everyone involved with the club (feeling) like they’re in the gutter, and he’s chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try to get him sacked.”