Liverpool defend injured Mo Salah’s decision to fly home from Afcon

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Liverpool’s assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has said Mohamed Salah’s commitment to Egypt should never be questioned amid fierce criticism of the forward’s exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Salah is returning to Liverpool for treatment on a torn hamstring that is expected to sideline him for three to four weeks and, most likely, the rest of Egypt’s Afcon campaign. The decision was taken between Egypt’s and Liverpool’s medical teams and, according to Lijnders, gives Salah the best chance of playing in the final on 11 February should the Pharaohs progress that far.

As Egypt captain, however, Salah’s departure from the squad has attracted widespread criticism back home. Ahmed Hassan, Egypt’s most-capped player and four-times Afcon winner, accused the 31-year-old of “plotting his departure” from Ivory Coast and claimed he should have stayed with the squad “even if he only had one leg to stand on”.

But Lijnders said: “You should never doubt the commitment of Mo Salah. I never met a guy, and also a human being, who is more committed to the life of being a professional football player.

“I know the country is devastated to lose him. We were devastated to hear that he got injured. He played the first game, scored, assisted, the captain, a massive importance of course. But the only reason why their medical team and our team decided for him to come back is to give him the best possible chance to be available in the final if Egypt reach the final.”

Hassan argued that a member of Liverpool’s medical staff could have treated Salah at Egypt’s training camp.

Lijnders said: “The first message came out, saying it would only be a few days or one week, then they made a detailed scan and it came out that there is a proper tear in his hamstring. That means the expected return to playing will be three or four weeks if everything goes smooth and goes right. It will go smooth and it will go right because of the way Mo has treated his body before.

“What I am really happy about is that the medical team of Egypt and the medical team of Liverpool really worked together and were in close contact to make a decision. It is an example of how international football and club football should operate to put the player in the centre and not targets for everyone. Then it becomes a conflict of interest. All of us made the decision that is best for him. It is the best stable environment with people he knows and who have time to focus on the process. We know how it will go here in the facility.”

Liverpool will have Andy Robertson available for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham after three months out with a dislocated shoulder. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai remain absent but should be back for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Norwich.