Mohamed Salah ruled out of Egypt’s remaining group stage games

Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of Egypt’s next two matches in the Africa Cup of Nations due to a back injury sustained during the 2-2 draw with Ghana. The 31-year-old’s participation in AFCON is now uncertain.

Egypt faces Cape Verde on Monday night and, if they qualify, a potential last-16 tie awaits them next weekend. With a need for results after a pair of draws, securing a spot as one of the best third-placed teams hinges on their upcoming match in Abidjan.

If Egypt are eliminated at the end of the group stage, Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool while still nursing the injury. This could potentially lead to him missing crucial matches against Norwich and Chelsea at the end of the month for the Reds.

The official statement on Egypt’s national football team website stated: “Mohamed Salah has suffered a muscle strain in his back and will miss two matches.”

His club manager, Jurgen Klopp, addressed the media in his latest press conference: “In that moment it was a shock and couldn’t see why he was hit by something so intense. You have these kind of hamstring injuries in a different way.”

If the injury turns out to be far worse than the original diagnosis then that could be a huge turn of events in the Premier League title race.