Jurgen Klopp faces anxious wait over Liverpool’s Joel Matip as Cameroon head coach urges the defender to return for AFCON
The Liverpool defender has been a key figure in Klopp's side so far this season and his absence against Bournemouth underlined his importance
CAMEROON head coach Hugo Broos has left Jurgen Klopp sweating over potentially losing Liverpool star Joel Matip to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Broos is trying to encourage the 25-year old to bring his self-imposed hiatus from the national team to an end after making an impressive start to life in the Premier League.
Cameroon are hopeful that their fresh attempts to lure the Liverpool star back to international football will be successful.
But the defender has frequently chosen to opt out of international duty, even going as far as ignoring Broos' attempts to contact him.
Broos told Belgium’s: “When I took over as coach I went to see him in Gelsenkirchen and ask him to return to the team."
“But he said to me ‘nothing is organised properly in Cameroon’.
“I asked him to give me a chance to prove that we could do it better but he was not convinced.
“But in the meantime I’ve heard that he is now prepared to make a comeback and so I am going to go and see him again.”
Matip, who has 27 senior caps for Cameroon, last pulled on his national team colours in 2015 in a 1-0 victory over Gambia.
Even that appearance was a year in the making.
Liverpool have conceded just nine goals in 11 games in the Premier League with Matip in the line up.
Interestingly, they conceded four in his absence last weekend in Klopp's 4-3 defeat away to Bournemouth, underlying his importance to the squad.
Matip's absence would be a bitter blow for the Merseyside club, who could also lose Sadio Mane to the Senegal national team in January.
The Cameroon centre-back looks set to return from injury against West Ham on Sunday to bolster the leaky Reds defence.