Sadio Mane missed Liverpool’s 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday after picking up a minor muscle injury, manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.

It came as a surprise to see Klopp drop both Mane and Roberto Firmino for the tie, with Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri brought in to join Mohamed Salah in attack.

The selection left some fans concerned about the fitness of Mane, who has been dropped from the squad altogether without any real warning, but Klopp reassured fans that his absence was largely precautionary.

“It happened in the game against Tottenham a couple of days ago,” the boss told Sky Sports. “Nothing too serious but serious enough to not be involved today [Sunday].”

Klopp also had a similar message to fans about the fitness of Firmino, who was dropped to the bench and only brought on for the final 20 minutes of the match when Liverpool were already 2-0 up.

“That’s [so] something like this doesn’t happen again, [like] with Sadio,” he added. “It’s less than 72 hours until we play [again] – nobody wants to hear it, but it’s like this. We have to try to make sure the boys could recover as good as possible.

“That’s it, pretty much. That’s the only reason – Bobby is fine.”

Klopp seemingly has his sights set on Wednesday’s meeting with Brighton, who will come into the game in high spirits after surprisingly out-playing Tottenham and picking up a 1-0 victory later on Sunday.

For Liverpool, they have moved up to third in the Premier League table, one point behind Manchester United. Manchester City remain three points clear at the top and also have a game in hand on their rivals.

?? From defence to attack in the blink of an eye at the @LondonStadium ? #CatchMoIfYouCan ? pic.twitter.com/Z0sVmb5eyL

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 1, 2021

Klopp has preferred to focus on the success of his own team and will be delighted to see his forward’s start firing again.

After a run of four consecutive league games without a goal, Liverpool have now hit three in each of their last two matches, and they also added two in an enthralling 3-2 defeat to United in the FA Cup.

For more from ​Tom Gott, follow him on ​Twitter!