Mamadou Sakho has been handed a lifeline for his Liverpool career with a call-up to the club’s under-23 side.
Sakho’s future with the Reds appeared bleak after he launched a social media outburst in the early hours of Saturday before the 5-1 win over Hull City.
During the 3am rant, the French defender accused Liverpool of telling ‘lies’ about his first-team exile and claimed he had been overlooked for U23 duty.
But Jurgen Klopp has offered him a glimmer of hope with an inclusion in Liverpool’s reserve squad for the Premier League International Cup on Wednesday.
Sakho could play his first professional game since being suspended by UEFA in April amid accusations that he had tested positive for a banned substance.
Although the case was later dropped by European football’s governing body, the 26-year-old’s bid to revive his Anfield career has been beset by problems.
He was expelled by Klopp from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of America for multiple breaches of club protocol as his first-team prospects were limited.
The arrivals of Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan to an already well-stocked defence prompted Klopp to advise Sakho to pursue a loan move away.
But the player turned down numerous offers from Premier League clubs and overseas in order to remain on Merseyside and fight for his place.