Liverpool could be set for another collision course with Egyptian football chiefs over the possible involvement of Mo Salah on international duty this month.
The 31-year-old suffered a hamstring injury during the Africa Cup of Nations in January which has since restricted him to just one substitute appearance for his club (in the 4-1 win at Brentford) before the issue flared up again.
As reported by King Fut, the Reds have asked Egypt to exempt the forward from playing in the upcoming Winsunited Cup in the United Arab Emirates, but that request could be set to fall on deaf ears if he plays for us prior to that tournament.
EFA board member Ehab El-Komy has stated: “If he is not 100% ready, the national team coaching staff will be even more cautious about his presence in the upcoming camp…If Mohamed Salah is ready, we will be keen on his presence.
“Even up to the date of the international break, if Salah plays in any match with Liverpool, he will be ready and we will call him up to join the Egyptian national team.”
Jurgen Klopp hinted last week that Salah isn’t too far away from returning to action, so it’s possible that he may feature in the huge showdown against Manchester City next weekend.
However, that could lead to another tit-for-tat with the Egyptian FA, with newly-installed national team coach Hossam Hassan critical of the 31-year-old for leaving the country’s camp and returning to Merseyside after getting injured at AFCON.
While we’d obviously love to have our ever-prolific number 11 back for City’s visit to Anfield on Sunday, Reds fans won’t be one bit enthused about him jetting off to the Middle East with the Pharaohs for a mini-tournament consisting of glorified friendlies.
That’s the last thing Salah needs after spending the bulk of two months out injured, and with Liverpool facing a relentless and high-stakes run-in to a season which sees us continuing to battle on three fronts.
The ideal scenario from our perspective is that he’s back for the City game but sits out Egypt’s games later in March, although it’s been made quite clear that such a development would go down rather badly with his country’s FA. In the quest for peace, LFC may have to prepare for war over the next fortnight.
I’d give Mo 30 mins in Prague, all of the game against City, rest him in the return against Prague (as long as we are looking comfortable), then play him for all of the FA Cup at Old Toilet. Time to let it all hang out, if he’s then fatigued for international duty, so be it.
It’s a bloody farce, Liverpool pay his wages not Egypt, yes its an honor to play for you country but there’s no commen since from the Egyptian side and if he gets any injuries they mostly come from international games.