Egypt captain, Mohamed Salah, will not play any part at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah’s tournament is officially over after he suffered a “proper hamstring tear”.
Liverpool’s assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, informed reporters: “(A) proper tear in his hamstring. It’s expected [he will] return in three to four weeks if everything goes smoothly. It will go smoothly and it will go right because of how we’ve treated his body before.
“I always said before what I’m really happy about is the medical team of Egypt and the medical team of Liverpool really worked together and were in close contact and both made this decision. It’s an example of how international football and club football should operate to put the player in the centre.”
The 31-year-old sustained a muscle injury during Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations match against Ghana that ended in a 2-2 draw.
The severity of the injury was worse than initially feared, and Salah is expected to undergo an intensive rehabilitation program upon his return to Liverpool on Wednesday. He is unlikely to feature again in this edition of the continental competition even if Egypt make it to the finals as he might need a month to get back to full fitness.
