February 08, (THEWILL) – Egypt’s national team captain, Mohamed Salah, will return to Liverpool training on Tuesday and hopes to feature in the club’s next Premier League game against Arsenal on Thursday.
Salah’s Pharaohs of Egypt team advanced to the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday, losing to Senegal on penalties, but it was Salah’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane who stole the show by providing the game-winning penalty.
It took a toll on Salah that Egypt lost and Mane had to go over to console his teammate, but Salah wasted no time in telling Liverpool that he wants to put the AFCON failure behind him and instead focus on catching current English Premier League leaders Manchester City.
When he returns, the former Chelsea forward is unlikely to be put through a rigorous training session. Jurgen Klopp’s side will still be recovering from their 3-1 FA Cup triumph over Cardiff over the weekend, so he will be eased back in.
The club’s medical team will also need to assess his physical condition, as he played 753 minutes of football in seven AFCON games, with Egypt going to extra time in all four of its knockout round matchups.
AFCON champion Mane, on the other hand, is still a part of Senegal’s celebrations, but he is still hoping to be included in the squad to face Leicester. Senegal President Macky Sall proclaimed Monday a national holiday, as THEWILL reported, and the President is scheduled to see the squad in Dakar on Tuesday.
Fortunately for Klopp, other players have just returned from injury. Harvey Elliott came on as a substitute and scored his first goal for Liverpool in the win over Cardiff, while Thiago also saw action.
Divock Origi has also returned to training, and Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino have been on a scoring spree recently. Luis Diaz, a new acquisition for Liverpool, also made his debut over the weekend and showed impressive signs of why Klopp brought him in.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
