Mohamed Salah will likely return to Liverpool for treatment on the hamstring injury he sustained while playing for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, according to Jurgen Klopp.
Due to a muscular injury sustained during Egypt’s 2-2 Group B tie with Ghana on Thursday, Salah will miss his nation’s next two Afcon matches.
Klopp remarked, “It makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us,” following Liverpool’s 4-0 victory against Bournemouth.
“If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.”
against Monday, Egypt takes against Cape Verde; win ensures passage to the knockout stages.
Asked if Salah would go back to the tournament should his country reach the last 16, Klopp added: “I would say if Egypt qualifies for the final, if he’s fit before the final, then probably yes.”
Jurgen Klopp on Mo Salah's injury and the plan for his treatment. pic.twitter.com/IUp9dXPVHX
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) January 21, 2024
Klopp had suggested on Friday that Salah’s hamstring problem was likely to be severe, given the forward had missed just 10 league games for the Reds in more than six seasons.
“He was shocked and couldn’t see why he was hit by something so intense,” said the German.
“You have these hamstring injuries in a different way. He felt it and we know how rarely Mo goes off, or needs to go off, so it is definitely something.”
The Egyptian Football Association have confirmed Salah will only feature in the tournament again if his nation advance to a quarter-final on 2 or 3 February.
The last of Egypt’s seven titles at the Cup of Nations came in 2010, a year before Salah made his international debut and they finished runners-up in the 2017 and 2021 editions.
The 31-year-old scored a late penalty last Sunday to help Egypt draw 2-2 with Mozambique to avoid an embarrassing opening defeat earlier in the tournament.
Salah is convinced he will win the Afcon “sooner or later”.
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“I would love to win it, absolutely,” he said. “It will happen somehow – that is what I believe. Whatever I believe, I achieve – so sooner or later, it will happen.
“I have won everything possible but this one, not yet. Everybody knows what it means to any player to win an Africa Cup.
“The players are very motivated to win the tournament. I believe that, with hard work, everything is possible, so we just need to win one game to qualify and we go from there.”
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