Arne Slot makes feelings clear on Mohamed Salah's UK return after explosive Liverpool row

That cameo came merely five days after the 33-year-old had been omitted from the matchday squad entirely following his controversial remarks in which he accused the club of leaving him "thrown under the bus" while also publicly questioning his Anfield future.

Talk of a potential January exit emerged during those difficult days, but the tournament in Morocco has provided a natural cooling-off period, allowing the situation to settle.

Slot made clear just how significant Salah's availability is to his plans, using the word "happy" four times when discussing the forward's return.

Ahead of the visit of Burnley, the head coach said: "First of all, he needs to play another big game for Egypt on Saturday and then he comes back to us.

"I am happy he comes back because Mo has been so important for this club, for me, so I am happy that he is back.

"Even if I had 15 attackers, I still would have been happy for him to come back - but that is not our current situation. Happy to have him back after an important game that he still has to play.”

Slot said they were in conversation with the 33-year-old about how soon he would be available - Liverpool play Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday - after Saturday’s third-place play-off against Nigeria.

He said: “That is something we are talking about together: what is expected of him over there and over here.

“First of all he needs to have an important game on Saturday.”

Salah returns to a squad which has been weakened by injuries to Isak and Conor Bradley, who has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

But Liverpool are 11 matches unbeaten, with Salah featuring in three of those at the start of the run, and they appear to be a much more stable unit than when the Egyptian departed.

Slot added: "Ideally it is not 11 games unbeaten it is 11 wins in a row, that’s always what you’re aiming for even if it’s not realistic.

"But from where we were when we conceded the fourth goal against PSV (their last defeat on November 26) and where we are now I think we are in a much better place.

"There is still enough room for improvement - but there was room for improvement last season when we were top of the league and Champions League in this period of time.”

Liverpool are fourth in the Premier League heading into the weekend, eight points behind Aston Villa and only two above Brentford, and Slot admitted that the battle was their main concern domestically.

Slot said: "We haven’t put ourselves in the most ideal position, especially if you compare it to where we were after six games (they won their first seven in all competitions).

"The reality is we are competing against these teams for the fourth position.

"There is still a lot for us to play for in the league."

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