Liverpool legend Jan Molby is astonished by the recovery time of Red’s forward Sadio Mane, calling the Senegalese international a “freak of nature”.

Mane has been brilliant since arriving from Southampton, but when he suffered a hamstring injury before the clash with Manchester United, fans feared the worst.

It was expected that the forward could be out for up to 2 months, you only have to look at Paul Pogba to see how unpredictable hamstring injuries can be. But Mane made a relatively swift recovery, and provided his team with two assists on his first game back.

Molby has praised the forward, saying his fitness levels are exceptional.

“When Sadio Mane came last season he got off to a very good start but I think if anything this boy has been even more impressive,” Molby wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.

“Mane was back in the starting line-up and I think in many ways he’s a freak of nature.

“You get players who recover quicker than others and you get players who can have match sharpness almost regardless of how long they’ve been out – the more I see of Sadio Mane I think he’s one of those.

“He’s always ready, he always looks fit and always looks sharp.

“I likes his contribution for the first goal, leading the break but waiting and waiting for the opposition to make the first step and then passing the ball over to Salah. Game over. He was very impressive.

“Liverpool will be hoping he just needs one game away with Senegal but I don’t think it greatly matters – he just plays and trains.”