Liverpool Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and goalkeeper Alisson have paid tribute to mid-fielder Luis Diaz, who returned to action on Sunday with a late equaliser in club’s draw at Luton Town amid an ongoing family situation in his home country Colombia.
As Diaz continues to deal with an ongoing family situation in his home country, he was part of the Reds squad for Sunday’s Premier League encounter. Having been sent on by Klopp, the Colombian scored deep into injury time to give Liverpool a 1-1 draw with Luton Town.
According to reports, the midfielder’s father is still missing having been kidnapped along with Diaz’s mother, who has since been found safely.
“It’s wonderful, it’s emotional and it’s fantastic. But the real problem is not sorted. We wanted to give – and he wanted as well – Lucho the opportunity to be a little bit distracted from the other things. He cannot do anything, he is waiting all the time, the whole family is waiting all the time. And so he trained now a few times with us and he was then in a good mood, and that’s good for him,” Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.
“I think the signs from Colombia are rather positive, optimistic but the one thing we all want to hear, it didn’t happen yet. After the game no words were necessary. We just gave each other a hug. We know how he is – OK but desperately waiting for the right news,” he said.
Goalkeeper Alisson said people cannot imagine what Diaz is going through and hailed his team-mate’s strength of character. “It says a lot about his character, about his inner strength. Not many people [can] imagine what he is going [through] now, even as we are close to him, of course we are supporting him.
“We feel his pain but for him it’s a different level. Football sometimes in dark moments can bring joy to people, can bring joy to somebody who is struggling. And I think football is bringing a slice of joy to Lucho at this time.
“We are together with him for whatever he needs, to take his time. He came, trained, came to the game, scored a fantastic goal for us that was really important. We are with him 100 per cent,” he said.
