The sight of Mo Salah hobbling out of Egypt’s 2-2 draw against Ghana on Thursday night will have sent shivers up the spine of every Liverpool fan.
In a season which has seen numerous Reds miss games through injury, panic instantly began to set in as the realisation dawned that LFC might have to manage without their leading scorer for an extended period.
However, an update from his national team’s football association on Friday night. will come as a massive relief to his club’s supporters.
The official X account of the Egypt FA posted (translated from Arabic): “Mohamed Salah suffers a strain in his back muscle and will miss two matches in the African Nations [Cup].
“The x-rays that Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, underwent, showed that he suffered a strain in the posterior muscle, and he will miss the team’s next two matches in the African Nations against Cape Verde, and then the round of 16 match in the event of qualification.”
🚨 | إصابة محمد صلاح بشد في العضلة الخلفية ويغيب مباراتين في أمم أفريقيا 🇪🇬
أثبتت الأشعة التي خضع لها محمد صلاح قائد منتخب مصر ، عن إصابته بشد في العضلة الخلفية وسيغيب عن المباراتين المقبلتين للمنتخب في أمم أفريقيا أمام كاب فيردي ، ثم مباراة دور الستة عشر في حالة التأهل . pic.twitter.com/HfIyLNc2US
— EFA.eg (@EFA) January 19, 2024
If Salah’s injury is to rule him out for no more than two games (assuming Egypt get through their group), it means Liverpool shouldn’t have to worry about him being sidelined for the long-term.
Should the EFA’s timeline prove accurate and the Pharaohs be eliminated in the round of 16, it gives the 31-year-old a strong chance of being able to return to Merseyside in time for the crucial Premier League trip to Arsenal on 4 February.
Reds fans were probably resigned to losing him for the rest of January even before he went off against Ghana, so it looks as if he won’t be unavailable for any longer than was initially anticipated.
To have Salah back for the visit to the Emirates Stadium in just over two weeks’ time, which now seems a distinct possibility, is an outcome on which every Liverpool fan would’ve shaken when he slumped to the turf on Thursday night.
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