Egypt have declared that forward Mohamed Salah will be fit for the Pharaohs World Cup opener against Uruguay on Friday.
Salah was a doubt heading into this summer’s tournament after injuring his shoulder in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid last month.
The 25-year-old went to Valencia, Spain, for treatment since the injury and Egyptian manager Hector Cuper has said that he has ‘100%’ confidence that his talisman will be fit for his side’s opening game in Yekaterinburg.
“Salah is doing very well indeed, he’s recovered very quickly,” said Cuper.
“We’ll see how it goes today. I can almost assure you 100 per cent he’ll play.
“We’re trying to make him feel confident. The doctors are giving him the option to play or not. I know him very well, and I’m sure he’s not afraid.
“A risk of playing a match is something we can’t hide. In terms of him on the pitch, he’ll have full guarantees. If we do see at the last minute there’s an issue, we’ll see if it can be resolved.”
Cuper also denied that his team are solely dependent on Salah who finished as the Premier League’s top scorer this season with 32 goals in 36 games.
The former Roma winger led all scorers in the Confederation of African Football qualifiers with five goals in five games but Cuper insists that his defence and midfield is just important as his prolific forward.
“We’re not Mohamed Salah’s national team, this team has many players who cooperate with each other to reach the best results,” Cuper told MBC Masr TV channel as per Kingfut.
“Egypt is lucky that this generation has one of the best players in the world but our tactics don’t solely revolve around him.
“Argentina also has Lionel Messi, can we tell them not to play him? This doesn’t happen.
“I understand that the fans sometimes prefer things to be done in a different way and like when Salah performs well, a goalkeeper or a defender can save us from a dangerous opportunity and there is a midfielder that can run a lot for the benefit of the team.
“The most important thing is that the team finds a good balance in its performance.”
