Salah to miss 2nd leg vs. Barcelona with concussion

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will miss Tuesday's Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona due to a concussion, according to manager Jurgen Klopp.

Salah will join injured teammate Roberto Firmino on the sideline as the Reds attempt to overturn a 3-0 deficit at Anfield.

"Both are not available for tomorrow," Klopp said. "It's a concussion, so that means he would not even be allowed to play. That's it, that's all. He feels OK, but it is not good enough from a medical point of view, that's all. He is desperate and everything, but we cannot do it."

Under FIFA protocol, any player with a concussion must wait at least six days before returning to action. That still gives Salah a chance of playing in Liverpool's Premier League finale at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Salah suffered the blow to his head in a collision with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on Saturday.

The injuries to Salah and Firmino leave Klopp without two of his trusted forwards ahead of a second leg that was already daunting. Liverpool must score at least four times and avoid conceding to advance to a second consecutive Champions League final.

"There is hope and it is football," Klopp added, according to Andy Hunter of The Guardian. "We are far away from giving up, but we are not in a situation where we say it will happen 100 percent. But it is football."

Barcelona are also wary of traveling with a false sense of security. The Blaugrana carried a 4-1 lead against Roma into last season's quarterfinal second leg before being eliminated with a 3-0 loss in the Italian capital.

"We have no reason to be complacent," manager Ernesto Valverde said. "The result is good - I have no doubt about that - but the tie is still open."