Doubts over Mamadou Sakho's future after Liverpool defender sent home from America06:00, 26 JUL 2016 UPDATED 07:24, 26 JUL 2016
BY JAMES PEARCE
Klopp tells French centre-back he must continue rehab at Melwood
Mamadou Sakho faces an uncertain future at Liverpool after being sent home from their pre-season tour of America. The France international will arrive back in the UK on Tuesday after manager Jurgen Klopp took the decision to cut short his stay in the States. Sakho had been receiving treatment on an Achilles injury, which will rule him out of the start of the Premier League season. However, the ECHO understands that concerns had been raised about the 26-year-old's attitude around the club's training camp in California and that's prompted his swift return to the UK. Sakho was booked on the same overnight flight to Heathrow as left-back Brad Smith, who is en route to Bournemouth to undergo a medical ahead of completing a £6million move. Liverpool confirmed that the former Paris Saint-Germain captain had flown home but declined to comment on the reasons behind the decision.
Sakho will continue to have treatment at Melwood while the Reds complete their US tour commitments with matches against Chelsea, AC Milan and Roma over the coming week.
Despite being injured, Sakho was included in the travelling party to the States as Klopp sought to foster team spirit ahead of the new campaign.
However, the fact that he's heading home so quickly is a clear indication that something has gone awry. Lucas Leiva and Joe Gomez are also injured and won't feature on the tour but they are staying with the squad following Sakho's departure.
Liverpool fly to Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday night's first tour match against Chelsea at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
It's been a turbulent time for Sakho, who was cleared of a doping violation by UEFA earlier this month.
The governing body's control, ethics and disciplinary body dismissed the case against him - some three months after accusing him of failing a drugs test.
Sakho, who hasn't played since April 20, missed out on the Europa League final with Liverpool and Euro 2016 with France after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) alleged that he had taken a prohibited substance in a ‘fat burner’.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/doubts-over-mamadou-sakhos-future-11663197
