The games that Mo Salah will miss for Liverpool after hamstring trouble at AFCON

Once it became clear that Mo Salah’s suspected hamstring injury at AFCON was more serious than first feared, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to learn that Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, and his backroom staff would sit down and work out exactly how many games the Egyptian King is likely to miss.

It’s worth pointing out that Egypt would’ve been seen as one of the favourites for AFCON, so it was perhaps always in the Reds minds that they could lose their talisman for the full duration of the tournament.

Thanks to some late goals, Ghana and not Egypt exited the competition, but even if the latter go all the way to the final on February 11, Salah won’t be able to play any part.

That’s because, as Liverpool.com suggest, early prognosis on the injury would appear to make a return date of February 24 when the Reds play Luton.

Aside from cup dates, the Premier League fixtures against Chelsea, Arsenal, Burnley and Brentford will also see Salah play no part.

Of course, the club are still in with a chance of reaching the Carabao Cup final scheduled for February 25, so if they manage to beat Fulham, Salah’s return could actually come at Wembley.

One thing is certain, mind.

Even with all of those dates as a guideline, Jurgen Klopp won’t bring Salah back into the fold unless he is absolutely convinced that the player won’t relapse.

If Liverpool are still top of the table by the end of February, there will be far more important games to come from around a month or so later – and Salah will absolutely be needed for those.