Egyptian football legends SLAMS Mo Salah for returning to Liverpool during AFCON after injury

Mohamed Salah was harshly censured by a legendary Egyptian player for leaving the Egypt camp early.

Egyptian football legends SLAMS Mo Salah for returning to Liverpool during AFCON after injury

Ahmed Hassan has criticized Mohamed Salah for leaving the Egypt camp midway through AFCON (Via X/@Football__Tweet)

Liverpool and Egypt winger Mohamed Salah‘s AFCON tournament was cut short due to an unfortunate injury. The Egypt #10 was forced off the pitch during his team’s second group-stage game against Ghana. Despite an injury, the player has received backlash for his decision to leave the team camp for rehabilitation at Merseyside.

Surprisingly, Egypt managed to qualify for the Round of 16 in second place. A hard-fought 2-2 draw against table-toppers Cape Verde was enough to surpass Ghana and Mozambique in Group B. It was earlier announced by Salah’s agent that his injury was more ‘serious’ than expected and that he would be out for at least 28 days.

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This virtually ends his tournament, with the most realistic prospect of him playing coming only if they make it to the semi-final or final. However, his decision to leave caused severe criticism from all sides. Fans were enraged at the player’s decision to leave the camp midway. Egypt’s most capped player, Ahmed Hassan said;

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He is the captain. He should stay with the team at AFCON no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on.

He angrily added that Salah was ‘plotting’ his departure from the Egypt camp. Hassan reiterated that being captain, Salah should have brought someone from Liverpool to care for his fitness.

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Liverpool defends Mo Salah amidst accusations of leaving Egypt camp early

Mohamed Salah’s decision to return to Liverpool after picking up a ‘tournament-ending’ injury in AFCON was received with mixed opinions. While many justify that a player unable to play should get back to rehabilitation, others argue that as captain, he should remain with the team. As of late, former players, fans and club management have also gotten into the mix.

Mohamed Salah and Pep Lijnders
Pep Lijnders was quick to defend Mohamed Salah in the light of Ahmed Hassan’s comments (Via X/@Football__Tweet & LFC)

Replying to diffuse the ‘accusation’ that Salah was plotting a return to Liverpool, club assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders said that Salah has a ‘proper tear’ in his hamstring. He continued, stating;

You should never doubt the commitment of Mo Salah. I've never met someone more committed to being a professional footballer.

He then defended the club’s decision to recall him to the team. Lijnders said that the only reason he’s back is to get the best chance to be fit for the final, given they reach there. As for Liverpool, Salah has been crucial to their season, scoring 14 times and setting up another 8 this season. The club is top of the table but will be needing Salah if they are to lift the Premier League this year round.

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