Liverpool get huge Mohamed Salah boost as Egypt back down in club vs country row
Mohamed Salah has not been selected in Egypt's squad for the March international break in a major boost to Liverpool.
The Pharaohs are set to travel to Abu Dhabi to participate in a friendly tournament where they face New Zealand and then either Tunisia or Croatia later this month. Jurgen Klopp's star will be afforded a break after the Reds requested for the 31-year-old not to be called up.
Their hope is to give him more time to recover completely from his injury, though he featured in Liverpool's Europa League win over Sparta Prague and could do so again against Manchester City. Klopp admitted that Salah's return has come sooner than expected due to the scale of Liverpool's injury issues.
Egypt were initially reluctant to agree to Liverpool's request but appear to have relented. The deal would seem to put an end to the latest twist in a club versus country conflict that emerged between the parties during the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah has made just one Premier League outing since picking up a hamstring injury in Egypt's Ivory Coast campaign. The Premier League star returned to Liverpool for treatment during the tournament but the saga caused frustration in the Egypt camp and eventually saw Klopp issue an apology.
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The national side did make an attempt to ease relations and saw team doctor Mohamed Abu El-Ela communicate with Liverpool's medical team. Egypt FA Chief Ehab El Komy even told local television of his hope to ease the dispute.
He said: “The national team definitely needs Mohamed's presence, and (we are) very keen to remove any misunderstanding (between the two parties).”
Egypt's Mohamed Salah suffered an injury during the first half against Ghana (AP)El Komy's stance appears to have softened. He had said if Salah plays he would feature in the squad for Marchh's tournament. "The coaching staff, the Football Association, and the Egyptian fans are all keen on Salah’s safety," said El Komy, "If he is not 100 per cent ready, the national team coaching staff will be even more cautious about his presence in the upcoming camp.
"We have two weeks ahead of us and his recovery may be complete. If Mohamed Salah is ready, we will be keen on his presence. Otherwise, a different talk will be held at the appropriate time.
"Even up to the date of the international agenda, if Salah plays in any match with Liverpool, he will be ready and we will call him up to join the Egyptian national team. We want things to be calm, especially since Hossam Hassan wants all players to be present for Egypt’s strong start under his leadership."
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