Salah was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury
Mohamed Salah has been criticised after choosing to return to Liverpool to receive treatment on an injury picked up at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah was substituted with a hamstring injury in the first half of Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday and further scans have revealed that he will be out of action for around a month.
The injury comes as huge blow for Egypt, who will be without their talisman for the remainder of the tournament. Salah watched on from the stands as his side drew 2-2 with Cape Verde.
He is now set to return to Liverpool to start his treatment and was forced to hold a press conference in which he attempted to diffuse the club vs country debate but one Egypt legend has called out the forward for his decision.
Mohamed Salah does not look pleased as Egypt trail Cape Verde 😕 pic.twitter.com/xuwqQp0dRa
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 22, 2024
Striker Ahmed Hassan, Egypt’s most capped player, told The Mirror: “I’ve always backed Salah and I was very happy with his presence as captain of the Egyptian national team.
“I had no problems with what he said, but it turned out that he was plotting his departure from the Egypt camp.
“Do the AFCON regulations allow a player to leave the national team’s camp and come back again?
“He had the possibility of bringing in someone from Liverpool’s medical staff to be with him during the competition. Again, he is the captain. He should stay with the team no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on.
“He even said himself that it’s the Egyptian national team, not Salah’s national team, and this is true. We have confidence in all the players who are there and they must fight for the title.”
Liverpool’s assistant boss Pep Lijnders has stood up for Salah, in the mean-time, claiming that the ‘only reason’ he returned to Liverpool is to give himself the best possible chance of returning for the AFCON final, should Egypt get there.
“No-one should ever doubt the commitment of Mo Salah. I know the country is devastated losing him. The only reason the two medical teams decided for him to come back is to give him the best possible chance of being ready for the final if they get there.”
Egypt secured qualification despite their draw against Cape Verde after Ghana’s late collapse that saw them concede two goals in three minutes to draw against Mozambique.
They will play their first knockout game on January 28.
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