Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah is expected to return to play in three to four weeks if there are no setbacks in his recovery from injury, the Premier League side’s assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders said on Tuesday.
The Egypt international will travel to England to undergo treatment after sustaining a hamstring injury before halftime in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in Abidjan, triggering panic at Liverpool.
“It’s a proper tear in his hamstring so it’s expected (he will) return to play in three to four weeks if everything goes smooth and everything goes right,” Lijnders told reporters ahead of Liverpool’s League Cup semi-final second leg against Fulham.
“It will go smooth and it will go right because of how we’ve treated his body before.”
The Dutchman added that medical personnel from Liverpool and Egypt agreed he would undergo treatment in England, rather than remain with the national team who have reached the last 16 of the tournament.
“(What) I’m really happy about is the medical team of Egypt and the medical team of Liverpool football club really worked together and were in close contact and both made this decision,” he added.
“Our medical team decided for him to come back and to give him the best possible chance to come back if we reach the (League Cup) final.”
Liverpool, who have won the League Cup a record nine times, travel to Craven Cottage on Wednesday with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg. They will be boosted by the likely return of left back Andy Robertson who has been sidelined since October with a shoulder injury.
“He’s only trained once so he’s pushing himself in the squad which is nice because he’s one of our captains so that’s really important. The medical team said it’s a coaching decision so he’s in (against Fulham),” Lijnders said.
Liverpool lead the Premier League standings by five points ahead of champions Manchester City, who have a game in hand. A quick return for Salah could be crucial in helping Juergen Klopp’s side claim a second Premier League title.
