Diaz back in Liverpool training after breakthrough in search for kidnapped dad

03 November 2023 , 11:14

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Diaz back in Liverpool training after breakthrough in search for kidnapped dad

Luis Diaz is back in training with Liverpool …but manager Jurgen Klopp insists he will be under no pressure to play.

The Colombia international star is anxiously waiting for news of his father Luis, who was kidnapped in his home country as armed men forced him from his vehicle.

In a frightening twist, the Colombian government has claimed the national hero’s dad was taken by the country’s rebel National Liberation Army, who vowed to release him "as soon as possible". That has raised hope for Diaz, with Klopp admitting that the entire Liverpool squad is with the forward in hoping for good news.

But he insisted there will be no suggestion of putting any pressure on the player, who has missed the last two Reds matches on compassionate leave, after the devastating attack on his family, which also saw his mother kidnapped in the raid at the petrol station, but was later rescued.

Speaking ahead of the visit to Luton on Sunday, Klopp explained that Diaz has returned to the training ground, where he is getting support from his team-mates. “He was in training two days ago, he had a session yesterday, and will be part of the team. We must wait – if he feels right he will be here and train with us.

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“The session he had with us, you could see that when he is with the boys it is fine, it’s OK. But you could see as well that he didn’t sleep a lot.

Luis Diaz is back in Liverpool training, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“We have just to see how he is and then we go from there. The news from Colombia is good, everything that gives us a little bit of hope is good. We are waiting actually for the really good news, but that’s it pretty much.

“I cannot really say what we will do because we just wait where we can pick up the boy from and go from there. But it’s all about him, whether he makes himself available or not, and I will not force anything.”

The kidnapping took place in Diaz’s home town of Barrancas last weekend, when his parents were confronted by four armed men, who took them at a petrol station.

His mother, Cilenis Marulanda was later rescued by police who had put up road blocks in the town, but the kidnappers who held his father Luis Manuel Diaz, escaped and have yet to make contact with their demands.

But a representative of the rebel group holding him, insisted that they had no knowledge that their men had been involved in the raid, and promised that he would be released “as soon as possible”.

David Maddock