LONDON – Mohamed Salah underlined his “love” for Egypt as the Liverpool forward hit back at critics of his decision to return to England for treatment on a hamstring injury.
The 31-year-old is expected to be sidelined for around four weeks as a result of the injury he suffered while playing for Egypt in their draw against Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations last week.
But he has been criticised for leaving the Ivory Coast to undergo his rehabilitation with Liverpool, while Egypt’s record caps-holder Ahmed Hassan said Salah should have stayed with the team “even if he only had one leg to stand on”.
Egypt captain Salah hopes to rejoin his teammates if they reach the latter stages of the tournament, and he gave short shrift to those who questioned his commitment to his country. He has 56 goals from 98 appearances for The Pharaohs.
“Yesterday I started the treatment and rehabilitation programme and I will do everything possible to be ready as soon as possible and return to the national team as was agreed upon from the beginning... I still love it and love its people. Try harder,” he wrote on X.
Salah had watched from the stands as Egypt secured their last-16 spot on Jan 22 with a 2-2 draw with Cape Verde.
The two-time African Player of the Year has never won the Cup and twice fell short in the final, to Cameroon in 2017 and Senegal two years ago.
With Liverpool in the midst of a Premier League title challenge and also competing in the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup, Salah’s return to Merseyside has been seen as putting club before country.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was forced to apologise to the Egyptian Football Association after revealing Salah had opted to come back to Anfield. But Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa also took to social media on Jan 25 to defend the player.
“The same individuals and ‘influencers’ who get weak in the knees when they happen to bump into Mohamed in person and beg for ‘follows’ or selfies, tried to capitalise on an unfortunate injury and questioned Mohamed’s commitment to his country,” he posted on X.
“They did this looking for fame, clicks and ‘likes’. I want to thank those who did the honourable thing and pointed out how ridiculous and cheap that was.
“Most importantly, to the vast majority of you, who support Mohamed, my message to you is not to worry, because your global icon, the one you helped create, is already too big to be brought down by social media.
“No hyperventilating or foaming-in-the-mouth ‘influencer’ is going to change that.” AFP
