LIVERPOOL, England (AP) - Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has held talks with Mamadou Sakho following the France defender’s middle-of-the-night comments on social media about his current marginalization from the first team.
Sakho took to Snapchat in the early hours of Saturday to question why he is not currently being considered for selection by Liverpool. He hasn’t played since April, first while serving a provisional ban for a failed drug test - that was later dismissed by UEFA - and then being sent home from the preseason tour of the United States because of concerns over his attitude.
He was not available for the start of the season because of a leg injury.
“Now it’s three weeks since I am fit to play games,” Sakho wrote. “They don’t want me to play also with second team … Why I don’t know. I accept my situation but I can’t accept the lie.”
Asked Thursday if Sakho should just keep quiet and work hard, Klopp said: “That’s not, I would say, a rule for Mamadou Sakho, it’s a rule for every player - work hard, do your best. I spoke to the team and I spoke to Mama and we spoke together and that’s it.”
Sakho made his first appearance of the season for Liverpool’s under-23 side against Wolfsburg on Wednesday. He will continue with the under-23s for a game this weekend.
Sakho was a regular for much of last season.
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