Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has expressed optimism regarding Mohamed Salah’s fitness for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea but admitted that his availability remains uncertain.

Both Salah and Darwin Núñez were absent from Wednesday’s match against Luton Town after featuring for Liverpool in the game against Brentford last weekend.

Lijnders addressed the situation during a news conference on Friday, stating, “Dominik [Szoboszlai], Darwin, and Salah, we really have to see. We have two more days. Then we will check if they can be there. It would be great, to be honest.”

Salah, who had been sidelined for a month due to a hamstring injury sustained at the African Cup of Nations, made a scoring return as a substitute against Brentford but missed the subsequent match against Luton Town.

Ljinders confirmed that Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, and Diogo Jota will also be absent for Sunday’s final but expressed confidence in the club’s academy players to fill the void.

“It’s also good in life to accept what you have, so that is what we’re trying to do. It brought us success in the past, and we try to keep it,” Ljinders remarked.

Liverpool’s reliance on academy graduates like Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah, and Conor Bradley has been evident this season. Kelleher, in particular, is set to feature in his second Carabao Cup final for the club on Sunday.

“I’m really pleased for him. At Liverpool, you need two good goalkeepers, and we have that. It is special and a huge compliment to the goalkeeping department,” Ljinders praised.

“He is a complete goalkeeper. He can make match-winning saves, sees the game well, knows when to play with direction, and remains calm. That serenity creates calmness for the others, especially the way we want to play. It’s important to have a goalkeeper like that.”