As football took a break from club football, Liverpool fans were anxious yet happy. Happy, as their club sat atop the Premier League with 45 points from 21 games. The team displayed excellent form with Captain Virgil van Dijk returning to his best, Salah rediscovering his lethal goal-scoring form, and new signings Alexis Macallister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai seamlessly fitting into the squad.
Anxious because key players such as Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Kostas Tsimikas, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are out injured while Mohamed Salah and new signing Wataru Endo might be out till February as they are at AFCON and the Asian Cup respectively.
Latest update on Mohamed Salah’s hamstring injury
One of those anxieties about losing a player seems to have come true as Mohamed Salah seemingly sustained a hamstring injury. He was compelled to leave the field in the first half during Egypt’s match against Ghana, which ended in a 2-2 draw. In the match, Egypt trailed twice due to goals from West Ham attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus.
Egypt and Liverpool fans- both are now waiting to see the extent of Salah’s injury, hoping and praying that it is not serious. Egypt manager Rui Vitoria did comment in the press conference after the match that Salah’s injury does not seem that “serious”, but it make take a while before we find about the extent of Salah’s injury.
If Salah’s injury is serious, it could potentially see him miss the rest of AFCON while Liverpool’s title aspirations would suffer a massive dent as they are only 2 points behind treble winners Manchester City and Aston Villa.
How did Mohamed Salah suffer an injury?
The 31-year-old winger went down on the ground, clutching the back of his left leg and laid on his back during the game. As lay there on the ground, receiving treatment, it became apparent that his night would be cut short.
He passed the armband to fellow teammate Ahmed Hegazi, as he was substituted by Mostafa Fathi, while the Ghana fans cheered on, as the most high-profile player at the AFCON went off. He limped off to the sideline and watched his nation come back twice from goals by Mohammed Kudus.
With Egypt still having not recovered from the loss of Mohamed Salah, Kudus took the limelight as he dribbled past two defender and slotted the ball into the back of Egypt’s net. Egypt restored parity as Omar Marmoush pounced on a casual back-pass from Inaki Williams and slotted home, before Kudus put Ghana in front again two minutes later, with a deflected shot that deceived the Egypt goalkeeper. However, Ghana conceded another poor goal that started as Osman Bukari was dispossessed by Trezeguet, who pulled the ball back in for Mostafa Mohamed to score.
Speaking of Salah’s injury, Egypt’s manager Rui Vitoria said, “I hope it’s not a big problem…but now, I don’t know, because it’s [too] early to see something. I think it’s not [serious], but let’s see. Let’s see if Salah recovers.”
How big do you think Mohamed Salah has been for Liverpool this season and how bad will his absence hurt them? Let us know in the comments below!
