The injury sustained by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on international duty is ‘not serious’, according to Egypt’s assistant manager Hany Ramzy.
Salah was forced to leave the field of play in the final moments of Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Swaziland on Friday evening, after picking up what appeared to be a thigh injury.
His late substitution was a dampener on Egypt’s 4-1 win, with Salah even scoring directly from a corner during the game. Those on Merseyside will have immediately recoiled upon hearing the initial news as the attacker remains an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s system at Liverpool despite struggling to recapture the scintillating form he displayed last season.
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/GettyImages
Despite a slight dip in form, Salah remains a key figure for the Reds. Even with the added depth in their forward line this season, Salah’s ability to explode into form at any time would no doubt ensure his absence would be felt by Liverpool.
However, Egypt’s Ramzy has looked to play down the seriousness of the 26-year-old’s injury as he told Yallakora: “The initial diagnosis confirmed that the injury is a muscle strain and there is no possibility of muscle rupture.”
Egypt are scheduled to play the return fixture on Tuesday but it remains to be seen whether Salah will be able to play any part as they await to find out the true extent of the issue.
Ramzy added: “The player needs to have radiation to determine the injury and the duration of his absence.
“It is not a big injury, we support him with all our energy and we hope he will return without being affected by an injury as soon as possible.”
Liverpool’s next Premier League fixture comes against Huddersfield following the international break, a game Jurgen Klopp will hope to be able to call upon Salah for.