Liverpool have been handed a timely boost from football's world governing body, with the BBC confirming FIFA have cleared Joel Matip to feature for the Reds.

Moving to Merseyside from Germany in the summer, the Cameroonian rejected a call-up from his national side for the African Cup of Nations and that led to confusion about his availability, due to FIFA's own rules.

FIFA rules state that a country can block a player from featuring for their club if they reject a call-up and Liverpool were concerned that they could be punished for selecting the defender- but the concerns have been cleared up.

World football's governing body has dismissed the case, with Matip among seven players to reject a call-up from Cameroon after citing a bad experience with the coaching staff, per reports from the BBC.

Cameroon boss Hugo Broos suggested the nation will take action against the players previously, as he said:

"These players have put personal interest above those of the national team and the federation reserves the right to take action in accordance with Fifa regulations."