Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho cleared of ACL knee injury
Tuesday 10 November 2015 11:16, UK
Mamadou Sakho has been cleared of cruciate ligament damage but still faces a wait to determine the extent of his knee injury.
The 25-year-old has been ruled out of the France squad for their friendlies against Germany and England this week after suffering the injury during Liverpool's 2-1 league defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Reds had feared a serious problem for the France international but Sakho has avoided rupturing a cruciate ligament in his right leg which would have ended his season - the Reds have already lost Joe Gomez and Danny Ings to ACL injuries.
Sakho underwent scans on Monday and he will meet with consultants on Tuesday to get a clearer picture of the damage and a prognosis on recovery after cruciate damage was ruled out.
He is certain to miss international duty, while he is also a doubt for Liverpool's next game against Manchester City in a fortnight's time.
The French Football Federation said: "Mamadou Sakho, who suffered a sprained right knee during Liverpool's game against Crystal Palace, has been forced to withdraw for France's upcoming international friendly games.
"His condition does not allow him to travel to Clairefontaine as originally planned on Monday morning.
"The medical staffs of Liverpool and Team France have been in contact since Sunday night and the player will undergo an MRI today in England."
France coach Didier Deschamps has called up St Etienne defender Loic Perrin as Sakho's replacement.
Meanwhile, Jordan Ibe has bruising on his knee following a collision at Anfield but it us understood to be not too serious and it will not rule him out of the trip to the Etihad on November 21.
