Liverpool are currently in a precarious situation with their talisman Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian magician has reportedly refused to get a injury scan done ahead of his international match with Egypt as the Pharaohs faced Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Former Scotland midfielder Alan Hutton feels that Liverpool will be raging over the situation as Salah has kept them in the dark regarding his injury situation.
According to BBC Sport, Egypt head coach Ehab Galal claimed that Salah has refused to get a injury scan after Liverpool told him to send scans regarding an injury concern. Salah played the game for Egypt as they managed a 1-0 win over Guinea but he has kept Liverpool in the dark over his injury situation.
Salah even played the entirety of the game against Guinea which Hutton believes will simply infuriate the Reds. He shares how it is great that players are showing commitment towards their nation and so they should but considering that a player carries an injury the club will want him to rest and rehab so that he is available for preseason. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder spoke about the situation on Football Insider as he said, “Liverpool will probably be raging. It’s things I’ve seen throughout my own career, this kind of battle between club and country. The player wants to play for this country, which is obviously great, but for the club, they obviously pay him the big wages. They expect him to be ready for pre-season and fighting fit.”
Hutton continues to share the concerns of Liverpool as he predicts that if any surgery is needed then the Egyptian will be out for four to five weeks and therefore getting it done now makes sense. But with the player revealing his issue, it makes everything difficult for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. “If he needed an operation, for talking sake, and he’d miss four, five weeks because of it, you could get that done now. He’d be back in time. Hiding the scan results or not showing Liverpool what’s going on, it masks over all that. They’re left in the dark,” Hutton added.
Lastly he shared how it is very natural for Liverpool to get angry as they would care for their best players and think about their best as they would want their stars to be completely fit and fine ahead of the start of a new season. So he does not understand Salah’s point here of hiding his issue from his club.
“Of course, you’re going to be angry about that. It’s just natural you want your best players fit and ready to go for the start of the new season. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out from it. It’s not ideal hiding it from the club,” Hutton concluded.
Mohamed Salah was the standout player for the Reds this season having scored 31 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions. It has been a very physically and mentally challenging campaign for Klopp and his men but Salah has been fantastic throughout.
