Liverpool in panic as Salah suffers injury shock at AFCON

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager, expressed deep concern on Friday as the fear of Mohamed Salah’s injury spread like wildfire following the sight of the Liverpool talisman limping off the pitch.

Liverpool faced a nerve-wracking moment when Salah, the Premier League’s joint top scorer this season alongside Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, exited the field just before halftime in Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.

Klopp, addressing reporters on Friday, admitted, “We don’t know anything about it. I spoke with him last night and how it was. They are doing further assessments now, and then we will know more. At that moment, he was shocked and couldn’t see why he was hit by something so intense. You have these hamstring injuries differently. He felt it, and we know how rarely Mo goes off or needs to go off, so it is definitely something, but I don’t have any more information right now.”

Jurgen Klopp

The 31-year-old Salah is known for his rare injuries, having missed just 10 league games in six-plus seasons. Klopp expressed uncertainty about Liverpool’s medical staff traveling to the Ivory Coast to assess the extent of Salah’s injury, saying, “We will see. It depends on the diagnostics. We will have ultrasound and MRI, and then we will know what it is, and we will see and make plans, but it’s too early (at the moment).”

Liverpool, currently leading the Premier League with 45 points after 20 games, two points ahead of Manchester City, faces additional challenges with the potential absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Klopp revealed that Alexander-Arnold, recovering from a knee injury sustained in their FA Cup third-round win over Arsenal on January 7, is unlikely to feature in the upcoming match against Bournemouth.

Klopp shared updates on other injured players, stating, “The injuries are all positive, but not ready. (Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, and Dominik Szoboszlai) are all going in the right direction, but we will see when they can join first-team training. I don’t expect them for Bournemouth. I hope that nobody else will be out,” adding, “After Bournemouth and maybe for Fulham (League Cup semifinal on Wednesday). Trent is close, Robertson close, and Dom close. So all going in the right direction but for the weekend’s game, no.”