Fears over Mohamed Salah’s injury have been tempered as the Liverpool star will miss Egypt’s next two Africa Cup of Nations matches due to a back injury.
Should the Pharaohs progress into the knockout stages of the tournament, the 31-year-old is set to miss the first round and will be able to return from January in a boost for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side were prepared to be without their 204-goal talisman until February, with the expectation they would progress throughout the competition in West Africa.
In the context of the Premier League title race, should Egypt fail to beat Cape Verde on January 22 and if either Mozambique or Ghana win, Rui Vitoria’s side will be eliminated at the first hurdle. This means that Salah could return for Liverpool as early as January 31 when they face Chelsea at Anfield.
Salah was forced off in the first-half against Ghana on Thursday (January 18) as Egypt had to come from behind twice after Mohammed Kudus’ brace. In a post to X on Friday night, the Egyptian Football Federation confirmed that Salah has suffered a strain in his back.
“Mohamed Salah (has) suffered a strain in his back muscle and will miss two matches in the African Nations,” the statement began.
“The x-rays that Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, underwent, showed that he suffered a strain in the posterior muscle, and he will miss the team’s next two matches in the African Nations against Cape Verde, and then the round of 16 match in the event of qualification.”
As it stands in Group B, Egypt sit second with two points going into their final group stage encounter with Cape Verde. The pictures of the attacker limping off sparked fear and claims of a hamstring injury. The premature exit for Salah shocked Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
“We don’t know anything about Mo,” he said on Friday. “I spoke last night with him and (asked) how it is with his injuries. With these injuries they need further assessment, that’s what they are doing now and we will know more.
“In that moment (it happened), it was a shock. I couldn’t see it was like he was hit by something high intense and then go down. You can have these hamstring injuries in different ways, be he still felt it. We all know how rarely Mo goes off or needs to go off so it is definitely something, so we will see.
“There will be ultrasound and MRI and then we will see what Egypt plan. But it’s too early.”
Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday when they make the trip to AFC Bournemouth. The Vitality Stadium has proved to be a difficult place for Klopp’s side to visit, with Salah missing a penalty during last season’s 1-0 defeat on the South Coast.
The Merseysiders take on the Cherries – who are among the form teams in the Premier League over the last 10 games with their opponents on Sunday being the only team to match their points total.
