Mohamed Salah will play no part in Liverpool's first pre-season friendly of the summer against Tranmere Rovers due to work permit paperwork issues.

The Egyptian international became the Reds' most expensive signing ever last month in joining from AS Roma in a deal worth an initial £36.9 million.

But despite moving to Merseyside, Salah will not be allowed to play for the club until he undertakes the usual immigration protocol by leaving the United Kingdom and returning again.

That means that for Liverpool's trip to Prenton Park to face Tranmere in their first friendly of the summer as they prepare for the 2017-18 campaign, the 25-year-old remains unavailable.

Liverpool have however declared that Salah will be available in the near future, Jürgen Klopp telling the club's official website that he "cannot play because of the rules."

"That's what we have to accept," the German continued. "We will try to get the working permission or the visa."

He admitted that he was "not sure what it is" that the club needed to but explained they "have to go to Paris and leave him [Salah] there for a day or two" before his return to England.

Reds hoping Salah can make uncompetitive debut "soon"

Klopp insisted that Liverpool are "hopeful he can play soon", with a trip to face Wigan Athletic on Friday preceding a two-game tour of Hong Kong to take part in the Premier League Asia Trophy, facing fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace on July 19 and either Leicester City or West Bromwich Albion three days later.

Liverpool faced a similar situation for Serbian midfielder Marko Grujić when he joined from Red Star Belgrade last July.

The 21-year-old needed to receive the necessary documentation to be granted a permit, with Klopp attending a hearing in Manchester to give a testimony to a panel about why he should be

That meant Grujić had to follow the standard procedure of leaving the country and re-entering to be given the green light to start his career. He also missed a curtain-raising trip to Tranmere as Danny Ings' goal handed Liverpool a 1-0 win.

While Salah will not be involved, the bulk of the squad who have trained at Melwood since last Wednesday are expected to be involved - including senior figures such as Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge.

All of Klopp's squad but Emre Can are now back in training, but Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana only returned on Tuesday due to extended summer breaks - ruling them out for the clash with Micky Mellon's non-league Tranmere side.