Egypt legend Ahmed Hasan has accused Mohamed Salah of “plotting his departure” from the Africa Cup of Nations after suffering a muscle injury.
The Liverpool superstar was substituted after tweaking his hamstring during Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana, and Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that the Premier League leaders intend to fly the 31-year-old back for treatment.
Salah was in the stands for Egypt’s dramatic draw with Cape Verde, which saw them narrowly squeeze through to the knockout rounds, but he is not expected to attend future games until he is back to full fitness.
That has drawn the ire of former Egypt captain Hasan – who lifted the Africa Cup of Nations on four occasions – and he was quick to express his disappointment at Salah’s decision to leave the national team camp.
“I’ve always backed Salah and I was very happy with his presence as captain of the Egyptian national team,” Hasan said. “I had no problems with what he said, but it turned out that he was plotting his departure from the Egypt camp.
“Do the AFCON regulations allow a player to leave the national team’s camp and come back again? He had the possibility of bringing in someone from Liverpool’s medical staff to be with him during the competition. Again, he is the captain. He should stay with the team no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on.
“He even said himself that it’s the Egyptian national team, not Salah’s national team, and this is true. We have confidence in all the players who are there and they must fight for the title.”
Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has since hit back at Hasan’s comments, insisting that Salah’s return is aimed at facilitating a return for the final, should Egypt get that far.
“You should never doubt the commitment of Mo Salah,” he remarked. “I never met a guy, and also a human being, who is more committed to the life of being a professional football player.
“I know the country is devastated to lose him. We were devastated to hear that he got injured. He played the first game, scored, assisted, the captain, a massive importance of course. But the only reason why their medical team and our team decided for him to come back is to give him the best possible chance to be available in the final if Egypt reach the final.”
Ljinders also confirmed that Salah is expected to be out of action for three weeks, giving the Premier League’s top goalscorer a short window to recover ahead of the AFCON final on February 11.
