Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on his hamstring injury and will not feature at the Africa Cup of Nations unless Egypt reach the semi-finals.
Salah was substituted during the 2-2 group stage draw with Ghana last week with a hamstring problem, in a huge blow to Egypt’s hopes of a winning record-extending eighth AFCON title.
The Egyptian FA have now released a statement confirming that Salah will return to club side Liverpool for treatment, in the hope he will be fit to rejoin The Pharaohs if the team ‘qualifies for the semi-finals’.
“The Egyptian FA announces that Salah will now travel to England to receive treatment with the hope that he will join the Egyptian national team if it qualifies for the semi-finals,” the statement read.
Egypt face group winners Cape Verde this evening needing to win to be assured of a place in the knockout rounds. The seven-time winners have drawn each of their opening two fixtures so far, being held by Mozambique in a shock result in their opening fixture before the draw with Ghana.
Salah’s absence is a major blow to the hopes of Rui Vitória’s side with the 31-year-old having been in superb form for club and country this season. Salah is the joint-leading scorer and assist provider in the Premier League and has scored seven times in his last 11 caps for the national team.
Should he be ruled out for the remainder of the tournament, or Egypt fail to progress, it will be another AFCON disappointment for the forward, who was part of the teams that were beaten finalists in 2017 and 2021.
