Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists that he is ‘not happy’ at Adam Lallana’s latest injury but has refused to blame Gareth Southgate.
Lallana is facing up to a month on the sidelines after picking up a thigh knock midway through England’s World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania on Sunday.
The midfielder has previously been injured on international duty this season, having missed a similar period with a groin problem picked up in November.
Southgate called Klopp to address the situation in attempted ‘clear the air’ talks between club and country.
But while Klopp admits that the situation is frustrating, he does not bear any resentment towards the Three Lions boss for the injury to his influential player.
He said: “It’s absolutely normal to have contact with the national coach and the national team.
“We are in close contact because we have met a few times already.
“We both share players. It’s a normal situation. Of course I was not happy but I could not be less relaxed about this. It’s not about blaming Gareth Southgate.
“It’s always about fixtures and when do we play who and the players have to do the work. That’s okay. Sometimes things like this happen.
“I was not happy that he played on Wednesday [last week] but it’s not my decision.
“I respect 100% the decision of other managers because they have to respect my decisions too.
“Adam loves football that much that he didn’t say ‘maybe I should wait another day.’
“You saw the game against City it was intense and then travel, Monday for recovery and then Tuesday you have to train. It doesn’t help in these situations.
“We are not the only team and country that suffered. In the England game, German players left with injuries and none of the club coaches are happy.
“I really think we could handle these situations better if we all worked together.”