Liverpool defend Mohamed Salah from Egypt criticism over injury return
- Pep Lijnders has explained Salah's treatment plan
- Salah has come under criticism for the decision to leave the Egypt squad during the AFCON
- Lijnders has defended Salah's commitment to the national team
Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has come out in defence of Mohamed Salah after the injured forward was heavily criticised for his return to the club for treatment.
Salah suffered a hamstring injury during Egypt's AFCON clash with Ghana last week which was initially only expected to keep the winger sidelined for a handful of days, before a more detailed scan confirmed the injury was worse than first feared. The decision was then made to send Salah back to Liverpool, with Egypt hopeful he could return to the tournament in the later stages.
The news that Salah is set to leave Egypt's AFCON camp has not gone down well with everyone however, with legendary ex-captain Ahmed Hasan accusing the forward of "plotting his departures" from the squad.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Liverpool's Carabao Cup clash with Fulham, assistant manager Lijnders had hit back at Hasan, stating that no one should question Salah's loyalty to the national team.
"You should never doubt the commitment of Mohamed Salah," Lijnders said. "I never met a guy, and also a human being, who is more committed to the life of being a professional football player.
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"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.
"I think that because of the first message that came out, saying it would only be a few days, one week [confused matters].
"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 we have treated his body before."
Lijnders was also keen to point out that the decision for Salah to return to England was not made solely by his club, but in collaboration with the national team medical staff.
"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," he stressed. "It is an example of how international football and club football should operate to put the player in the centre and not make targets of everyone. Then it becomes a conflict of interest.
"How it works now is all of us made the decision that is best for him. To be in the best stable environment knowing the people have time and focus on the process."
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