Liverpool assumed that defender Joel Matip was retired from international football before he was called up by Cameroon for the African Cup of Nations this month.
The 25-year-old has decided that he is not going to the tournament, but could still not feature in Liverpool games if Fifa suspects that the club have swayed his decision or are not allowing him to represent his nation.
Matip has not played for his country for over a year following a fall-out with their management team but manager Alphonse Tchami is still expecting him to turn up.
“We have three players who are due to arrive, notably Allan Nyom and Joel Matip. The third player is Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting,” Tchami recently said.
Matip has become a star man for the Reds since arriving from Schalke in the summer and the Merseyside club are standing firm about his decision, according to The Guardian.
The Reds are already losing in-form winger Sadio Mane to Senegal this month and Matip also departing would leave a void at centre-half.
It would also become a surprise to manager Jurgen Klopp, if he did believe that the Cameroonian had retired from international football before this case occurred.
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
