da wazamba： Mohamed Salah is eager to shift focus away from his injury while on AFCON duty, with the Liverpool star saying it is “not mandatory” for him to play.
da roleta： Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Forward nursing hamstring complaintWill sit out two games at AFCONDetermined to land international titleWHAT HAPPENED?
The 31-year-old forward was forced off shortly before half-time in Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana. He appeared to be nursing a hamstring complaint, with it confirmed that he will be sitting out the Pharaohs’ next two games.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesWHAT SALAH SAID
Salah may have played his last game at the tournament, with a positive result required against Cape Verde on Monday in order to reach the knockout stages. The Liverpool talisman has said of being ruled out: “I am happy to be here, my injury is still there but the most important thing is to speak about the game. We have great players, a great team and we just need to fight and see what is going to happen. We have great players and this is the best 20 players in Egypt so we need to play our game with courage and confidence and I believe we are going to win the game. I would love to win it, absolutely. I've won everything possible [with Liverpool] but not this one, yet. I believe it will happen, everything I believe I achieve, so it will happen. Sooner or later it will happen. You see the levels here are very close, you go to every game and you don't know who is going to win. The football is improving a lot, players playing in Europe and big levels. So I think African football is improving a lot and you can see also at the world level with what Morocco did at the World Cup (semi-finalists). All of Africa were behind them, so I think it is improving a lot.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Salah went on to say, with somebody required to step in and provide cover during an injury-enforced absence: “I hear the criticism [of Egypt]. When we lose a match people are very critical. I believe in my team and I believe in the players. I think we will continue to improve on our performance. It is true that I am the captain but I wish people would be more flexible and realise players are giving their best, even if the outcome is different to what is expected. I ask the supporters to get behind the team. Football is not easy. We have some players participating in the tournament for the first time. Pressure is not on the supporters but it is on us as players. We are open to criticism. But as professionals, we know what is expected on the field. I respect all opinions. I do my best but I don’t take into account what is being said on social media. I don’t believe my presence puts extra pressure on the players. It is not mandatory to play with Mohamed Salah. Any player can be replaced and the others will improve open performance but it doesn’t mean that player has adversely affected performance of those players. I believe we are a team and that’s all I can say about your question.”
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR SALAH?
Egypt lost in the AFCON final back in 2022, with Salah unable to take a penalty in the final as Senegal ended a shootout before he could step up. He has won just about every major honour available at club level, as questions are asked of his future at Anfield, but two final defeats – the other coming in 2017 – are as close as he has come to winning silverware with his country.