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Liverpool have detailed their plan to nurse Mohamed Salah back to fitness after the flying winger suffered a muscle injury that could keep him out for up to a month. Salah's legendary countryman, Ahmed Hassan, is not best pleased with his decision to jet back to England and temporarily desert his Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) team-mates.
Egypt made it through to the AFCON knockout rounds thanks to a 2-2 draw with Cape Verde on Monday night. Salah was not in the squad, having had to come off in the first half of last week's clash with Ghana.
The 31-year-old's injury was exactly what Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was hoping to avoid ahead of a tense Premier League title run-in. Salah is by far and away the Reds' top scorer this season with 14 goals in the Premier League alone.
And the prolific forward will now fly back to Merseyside, the club have confirmed, in order to give himself the best chance of returning to fitness for the AFCON semi-finals and final, if Egypt make it that far.
"Mohamed Salah will return to the AXA Training Centre on Wednesday to begin an intensive rehabilitation programme with Liverpool’s medical team on the muscle injury he sustained with Egypt last week," Liverpool's statement read.
"The injury, which is worse than first feared, forced the forward from the field in the first half of the Africa Cup of Nations fixture with Ghana and an agreement has been reached with the Egyptian FA for Salah to undergo treatment in Liverpool.
"Do the AFCON regulations allow a player to leave the national team’s camp and come back again? He had the possibility of bringing in someone from Liverpool’s medical staff to be with him during the competition," he ranted.
"He is the captain. He should stay with the team no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on. He even said himself that it’s the Egyptian national team, not Salah’s national team, and this is true."
