- Mohamed Salah's hamstring injury is worse than initially thought.
- Salah will return to Liverpool for intensive rehab.
- He might rejoin Egypt in the later stages of AFCON if they progress.
The muscle injury is "more severe than initially anticipated," according to Salah's agent, potentially keeping the Liverpool attacker out of action for over a month.
Liverpool said on Sunday, January 21, that the 31-year-old, who was playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations, will receive treatment upon his return from the Ivory Coast and would rejoin the Pharaohs should they make it to the knockout stages.
Ramy Abbas Issa, however, points out a major flaw in this hopeful scheme.
“Mohamed’s injury is more serious than first thought and he will be out for 21-28 days, and not two games,” Abbas Issa wrote on his X, formerly Twitter, account.
“His best chance at participating in the current AFCON is by undergoing intensive rehabilitation in the UK and rejoining the team as soon as he is fit.”
After watching Egypt's 2-2 draw with Cape Verde from the stands, Liverpool later confirmed Salah's return to Merseyside on Wednesday, guaranteeing their spot in the round of 16.
If Egypt progresses further in the AFCON, the club said they will give Salah the best opportunity to return for the later phases of the competition.
“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,” read a statement on the club website.
“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.
“Salah will immediately begin work with the club’s medical staff upon his return to Merseyside with a view to being back in action as soon as possible for club and country, giving him the best chance to return to compete at AFCON if Egypt, who qualified for the knockout stage with a 2-2 draw against Cape Verde tonight, continue to advance in the tournament.”
Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota's doubles in the second half helped Premier League leaders Liverpool defeat Bournemouth 4-0 and increase their lead at the top to five points, despite early creative setbacks.
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