Mohamed Salah is set to make a return to Liverpool for treatment on his posterior injury.
However, this will happen only after he observes Egypt’s completion of their group fixtures at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, where they are scheduled to face the Cape Verde Islands in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Monday.
The Egypt Football Association (EFA) has confirmed that Salah will resume his treatment at the club, as suggested earlier by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp following their convincing 4-0 victory in the Premier League against Bournemouth on Sunday.
Despite Salah’s return to Liverpool, there is still optimism within the Egyptian camp that he might be able to contribute to the tournament, indicating a glimmer of hope for his potential involvement.
“We are hoping to catch him in the semifinals of the Africa Nations Cup in case of qualification,” the EFA said in a statement.
Salah sustained the injury during the match against Ghana on Thursday, and as of now, there is no specified timeline for his recovery. Despite facing the media on Saturday in the Ivory Coast, Salah avoided addressing inquiries about the severity of the injury.
Earlier in the day, Klopp had expressed his anticipation of Salah’s return to Liverpool for rehabilitation, emphasizing the likelihood of him working closely with the medical staff during this period.
“That’s the plan,” Klopp said. “However long he is out, it probably makes sense for everybody to [rehab] with us [in Liverpool] or with our people. That’s the plan. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.”
Klopp mentioned that he communicated with Salah on the night of the injury, clarifying that all subsequent contact has been with the Liverpool medical staff. Klopp also indicated that if Salah’s recovery progresses rapidly, there remains a possibility of his return to the AFCON to support Egypt.
“I’m not a doctor,” Klopp said. “I would say if Egypt qualifies for the final then probably yes. Ivory Coast, I’m sure it’s a wonderful country, but we have no people from us there. They have people who have to take care of the players who are playing.”
Salah said on Saturday of the injury: “I am happy to be here; my injury is still there but the most important thing is to speak about the game. We have great players and a great team and we just need to fight and see what is going to happen.”
Despite Salah’s absence, Liverpool comfortably beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to five points at the top of the Premier League. Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota grabbed two goals apiece in the second half, and Klopp was delighted with their performances.
After a tense first half, Klopp changed things up at the break and played Núñez on the left and Jota through the middle.
“In the moment we find rhythm, we are strong,” Klopp said. “We should start the games better but it’s about 98 minutes; it’s about winning the games in the end. As long as you stay in the game, today, step by step, we found a way and we won.”
While it was the forwards who grabbed the match-winning goals, Klopp was also thrilled with the controlled performance from Alexis Mac Allister at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield.
“Absolutely exceptional performance; I’m so happy for us but for him as well. He’s a really good footballer and defensively, he, he did a job and offensively, he’s a super important player for us. He’s calm on the ball and the good things in the first half were him,” Klopp said.
The manager was also delighted with Conor Bradley’s performance at right-back in his Premier League debut. “Pretty good, really good, very impressive,” Klopp said. “Wonderful kid, really hard worker and a good footballer. It was a good game.”