Liverpool Accused Of Being Behind Mo Salah's Departure From The Egyptian National Team

The captain of the Egyptian national team and Liverpool's mainstay Mohamed Salah. (Instagram @mosalah)

JAKARTA - Liverpool are accused of being behind the controversy over the departure of Mohamed Salah from the Egyptian national team who competed in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Salah eventually left Egypt who was still struggling in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The reason for the hamstring injury he experienced during his 2-2 draw against Ghana made him decide to go and return to the club for treatment.

The 31-year-old forward is indeed expected to be absent longer than expected.

Initially, Salah was expected to recover quickly and could not play in the next two matches if Egypt qualified for the last 16.

However, his injury is heavier than expected. He may take more than 20 days to recover his condition.

His agent, Ramy Abbas, revealed that Salah would be absent until the end of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

This is the reason Salah left the Egyptian national team and returned to England for medical treatment at the club.

The consideration is, if it recovers faster, the captain of The Prahaohs can rejoin, provided Egypt still remains in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Only, the Egyptian legend, Ahmad Hassan, considered it inappropriate to leave the Egyptian national team even in an injured condition and could not play anymore.

Hassan said it was like 'Even though I could only walk on one leg', Salah still had to be with the Egyptian national team.

The reason is, Salah is the captain of the Egyptian national team. However, he went and returned to the club on the grounds that he could recover faster.

"I fully support Salah. I am happy and proud of him to be captain of the Egyptian national team. I have never had a problem with him. However, everything changed when he left the Egyptian national team," Hassan said.

Furthermore, the former center player Besiktas and Anderlecht said, "Do the rules in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations allow players to leave the national team and then rejoin?"

"Isn't it better for him to ask one of Liverpool's medical staff to come to Ivory Coast and provide treatment during the tournament," said Hassan, who has played for Egypt 184 times.

"Remember he's the captain. He should have stayed with the team whatever his condition was. In fact, if he could only walk on one leg."

"He did say, 'This is the Egyptian national team and not the Salah national team'. That's true. We believe in all the players in the national team and they will fight to win trophies," he said again.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, denied that the club wanted Salah to leave the Egyptian national team. According to him, Salah's commitment is unquestionable.

"You shouldn't doubt Mo Salah's commitment. I've never met a very committed footballer," Lijnders said.

"I know his country is very disappointed to lose him. We were also devastated to hear he was injured," he said.

"The only reason why the Egyptian medical team and the club worked together to restore their condition is that they have a chance if Egypt can reach the final," he said again.

Despite trying hard to restore Salah's condition, he had a thin chance to appear in the final if Egypt reached the top match which was held on February 1, 2024.

"The problem is that his hamstring is torn. If the treatment runs smoothly, it will take at least three or four weeks to return to play. The opportunity to recover faster is indeed open when you see how Salah takes care of his body," said Lijnders.

"I am happy that the Egyptian medical team and Liverpool work together. We are also always in touch. All this is done for the best for him," said the assistant manager.