Mohamed Salah: Injured Egyptian star returns to Liverpool for treatment

January 21, 2024, 8:43 p.m. GMT

Updated 6 minutes ago

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Mohamed Salah helped Egypt reach the final of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations

Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on a leg injury sustained at the Africa Cup of Nations, but Egypt hope he will return for a possible semi-final.

“It makes sense for him to do the rehab with us,” Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp said on Sunday before Egypt confirmed the striker’s return.

Egypt face Cape Verde on Monday and will reach the knockout stages with a win.

The Egyptian Football Association initially said on Friday that Liverpool striker Salah would only take part in the tournament again if his country reached the quarter-finals on February 2nd or 3rd.

Asked whether the 31-year-old would return to Afcon should his country progress, Klopp added: “I would say if Egypt qualify for the final, if he is fit before the final, then probably yes.”

Klopp had hinted on Friday that Salah's thigh problem was likely serious, with the striker having missed just 10 league games for the Reds in more than six seasons.

“He was shocked and couldn’t understand why he was hit by something so violent,” said the German.

“They have these hamstring injuries in a different way. He felt it and we know how rarely Mo is out or has to be out, so it’s definitely something.”

The last of Egypt's seven Nations Cup titles came in 2010, a year before Salah made his international debut, and they finished second in the 2017 and 2021 editions.

Last Sunday he scored a late penalty to help Egypt draw 2-2 with Mozambique to avoid an embarrassing opening defeat at the start of the tournament.

Salah is convinced he will win the Afcon “sooner or later”.

“I would absolutely win it,” he said. “It will happen somehow – I believe that. Whatever I think I can achieve – so it will happen sooner or later.”

“I've won everything possible but not this one. Everyone knows what it means for a player to win an Africa Cup of Nations.”

“The players are very motivated to win the tournament. I believe that with hard work anything is possible, so we just need to win one game to qualify and then we move on.”