Salah forced off injured for Egypt at AFCON

Is it possible for Liverpool to emerge as the winners of the Premier League without the help of Mohamed Salah? (0:44)

Frank Leboeuf takes a closer look at Liverpool's probability of winning in the event that Mohamed Salah faces a prolonged absence due to the injury he sustained while playing for Egypt last Thursday. (0:44)

Ed Dove, who was invited as a guest on ESPN, wrote a blog post on January 19, 2024, at 11:09 AM.

During Thursday's Africa Cup of Nations match against Ghana at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Mohamed Salah was replaced in the first half due to a possible hamstring injury.

During the 45th minute of the game, the Liverpool striker had to stop running due to an injury. He sat on the ground feeling sad until he was attended to by the medical team. Eventually, he was substituted.

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Great news for supporters of both Pharaohs and Reds teams, the 31-year-old leader managed to leave the field without any assistance, although he seemed to be experiencing some uneasiness. During treatment, he indicated that he was feeling some discomfort in his left hamstring.

The manager of Egypt, Rui Vitória, stated that the severity of the injury was not yet known following the 2-2 score between the teams.

"I'm not sure if it's a major issue yet as it's still too early to determine," Vitória expressed her uncertainty.

In my opinion, it may not be a risky situation, but we should wait and witness. We should wait and observe if Salah makes a recovery.

Salah didn't take the time to chat with reporters in the section designated for interviews following the match, but he did flash a smile and appeared to be able to move without any trouble.

Just a few minutes after Salah was substituted, Ghana's Mohammed Kudus, who was also returning from an injury, scored the first goal with an amazing shot using his left foot from beyond the penalty area. He created some room for himself before making the shot.

Kudus managed to score once more in the latter part of the game, however, Egypt was able to equalize twice by scoring goals through Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed, resulting in a draw.

During a press briefing on Friday, Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, announced that tests will be conducted on Salah in order to evaluate the extent of his injury.

"We are currently uninformed regarding Mo's situation. After our conversation last night, there will be an evaluation that will provide us with more information," stated Klopp, visibly surprised. He was able to sense the severity of the incident and it is unusual for Mo to come off the field. Unfortunately, I do not have any further details to share. However, we plan on conducting an ultrasound and MRI to gather more insight."

During the first half of the match, Salah had a difficult time for his team from North Africa. The player was closely watched by Gideon Mensah and he was denied a penalty after being stopped in the opponent's box. This was quite frustrating for Salah.

He saved a point for Egypt in their first match against Mozambique by scoring a penalty in the 97th minute. The Pharaohs struggled to win and ended up with a 2-2 draw in their first game of the tournament.

Egypt is the team with the most wins in the Nations Cup, having triumphed in the tournament on seven occasions. However, despite their impressive record, Salah has unfortunately experienced defeat in the final twice before, namely in 2017 and 2022.

Ghana, who started their tournament with an unsatisfactory 2-1 loss against Cape Verde, will play against Mozambique in their last Group B match on Monday. Meanwhile, Egypt will end their initial phase games battling it out against Cape Verde in Abidjan.

This report was made possible by information obtained from the Associated Press.