Liverpool remain hopeful Jurgen Klopp will return for their FA Cup tie with Shrewsbury.
Sunday’s third round encounter at Anfield marks eight days since Klopp was sidelined by a positive Covid-19 test on the eve of his side’s trip to Chelsea.
Pep Lijnders oversaw the Reds at Stamford Bridge in the German’s absence but his own coronavirus result meant that he too is now ineligible for duty.
Uncertainty over Klopp’s involvement led to his programme notes containing the admission: ‘I have no idea if I will be in the stadium with you… or watching from home.”
However the Liverpool manager’s third-in-command Peter Krawietz remains optimistic that his superior will be back on the touchline for the match itself.
Asked about Klopp’s chances of featuring, he said: “We hope so, of course.
“He is well so far, he feels fine.
“The regulations are how they are and for this, he has to do a test as well.
“So we hope he will be fine to be in for tomorrow.”
Krawietz remained tight-lipped on Liverpool’s selection options for the tie after their training ground had to be temporarily closed due to a Covid outbreak.
He added: “I can’t tell you exact numbers, but obviously the situation is like that for the game tomorrow.
“We have a squad, we have a team, we can play and we will try to win this game.
“There’s a difficult situation out there. We had a couple of injuries, illness, Covid cases and this is the situation we have to deal with.
“We still have to wait for a few results as well; the players are not here [yet] for today, so they have to do their test before they can join the building.
“This is why I cannot speak about the exact numbers.”