Arne Slot has played down suggestions that Mohamed Salah has played his final game for Liverpool and said he has "no issue" to resolve with the forward.
Salah came off the bench in the Reds' 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, claiming an assist for Hugo Ekitike in the second half. It was the 33-year-old's first appearance since his explosive interview at Elland Road last weekend, when he accused the club of throwing him "under the bus".
"The reason he wasn't in Milan was his interview and everybody has a different opinion should he be once twice, three times, four months four years [out of the squad]," Slot said.
"Every manager makes different decisions on that but he wasn't involved against Milan. I spoke to him yesterday.
"I never say anything about what we talk about and I am not going to make an exception now, but actions speak louder than what has been said.
"He was back in the squad and when I had to make my first substitution I brought him in and he performed as every fan, including me, would like him to."
Salah did a lap of the pitch at the full-time whistle and applauded fans ahead of his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations, but Slot downplayed the idea that the forward's actions were a goodbye.
"He wasn't the only player who walked around the pitch," the Liverpool boss said.
"The fans deserved a thank you from us. Our players worked incredibly hard today to keep a clean sheet and for the first times in weeks we had a bit of luck with that.
"We have had games where we have not conceded a chance but conceded three goals. Today we definitiely did concede chances but they didn't go in.
"Mo is going to go to AFCON now. We hope he is going to do very well and in the meantime we have to do without him with not that many players available at the moment."
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Asked whether he would like Salah to return in January, Slot added: "Yeah. I think he is a Liverpool player and I like to use him when we need him.
"Today he didn't start as he did a few times before now but in the one and a half seasons before he started almost every game. Today when he came in he had the performance like you would want him to.
"He was close to another assist, he was close to scoring when [Federico Chiesa] assisted him. He was a threat. That's very important because when you play with attackers you hope he is a threat to the other team.
"For me there is no issue to resolve. He is now the same as any other player. You talk to your players if you are happy or unhappy but for me there is nothing for me to talk about after what happened against Leeds."