Liverpool face an anxious wait to discover the extent of Mohamed Salah's injury after he was injured while playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations, Jurgen Klopp said.
The 31-year-old striker was forced to be substituted before half-time in the 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday after he complained of discomfort in his hamstring.
“We don't know anything,” Klopp said. “I spoke to him last night. They are making further assessments and then we will know more.”
“At that moment it was a shock. He felt it and we all know that Mo rarely needs to go out, so there was definitely something up. I don't have more information at the moment.”
In response to a question about whether Liverpool would send a medical team to the tournament to provide assistance, Klopp added: “We will see. It depends on what the diagnosis is.
“They will do an ultrasound and an MRI and then we will know what it is and what Egypt is planning. It is very early.”
Egypt “We don't know yet what the problem is,” said full-time President Rui Vitoria. “I hope it's not a big problem.”
“It was a difficult time for us because in the second half we could only make two substitutions. I think it’s not dangerous but let’s see.”
Liverpool returns to English Premier League matches against Bournemouth on Sunday, and Klopp does not expect to welcome anyone back from injury. A trip to the south coast will be too soon for Dominik Szoboszlai, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas remain on the sidelines.
Klopp added: “They are all positive but not ready.” “They are all going in the right direction and getting closer and closer and some of them may be in training next week but for the Bournemouth game I don't expect anyone to come back. Hopefully no one is out until then.
“After Bournemouth, maybe for Fulham, we'll see how the boys do, but they're all close. Trent closed, Dom closed, Robbo closed. They're all going in the right direction, but no for this weekend's game.”
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Mohamed Salah – remarkably – is injured. Now Egypt and Liverpool must simply hope and pray
(Feigenhaus. Getty Images)
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