The Liverpool star’s injury is more serious than first believed, according to Mohamed Salah’s agent, and he may miss several weeks of work.
The 31-year-old was playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations when Liverpool announced on Sunday that he would be returning from the Ivory Coast to receive treatment. If the Pharaohs advanced to the competition’s knockout stages, he intended to rejoin them.
That hopeful plan now appears to have suffered a major setback, at least according to Ramy Abbas Issa.
The agent posted on X, the former Twitter platform, saying on his personal account: “Mohamed’s injury is more serious than first thought and he will be out for 21-28 days, not two games.”
“He has the best chance of playing in the current AFCON by recovering fully in the UK and then joining the team as soon as he’s fit.”
“After additional examinations were conducted on Mohamed Salah during the last hours, and after communication between the national team’s medical staff and his counterpart at Liverpool FC, it was decided that the player will return to England after the Cape Verde match tomorrow to complete his treatment, with the hope that he will join the national team in the semi-final of the AFCON if we qualify,” the Egyptian FA said in a statement that was posted on Liverpool’s official website on Sunday evening.
In the absence of their talisman, Premier League leaders Liverpool initially found it difficult to create during their match at Bournemouth on Sunday. However, a decisive 4-0 victory secured by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota allowed them to go five points clear at the top.
After the Reds’ victory at the Vitality Stadium, manager Jurgen Klopp stated that Salah’s decision to return to Merseyside from the tournament “makes sense.”
The German said, “That’s the plan,” prior to the announcement being verified. “I’m not sure if that has been decided 100% in advance. That’s the plan, though.
It makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people, regardless of how long he’s been out. This is probably how everybody sees it. “I’m not sure if that has been decided 100% in advance. That’s the plan, though.
It makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people, regardless of how long he’s been out. This is probably how everybody sees it. I’m not sure if that’s already set in stone.
“The night it happened, I had a conversation with him right after. He’s been in touch with our doctor ever since. I believe he’ll return.”
