Mohamed Salah Tests Positive for Coronavirus on International Duty

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah was reported to have tested positive for coronavirus while on international duty with Egypt. However, confusion reigns as the Egyptian FA deleted their original statement.

The 28-year-old was preparing for his country's two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Togo, the first of which is to be played in Cairo at the weekend before a reverse fixture next Tuesday.

However, it seems Salah may not take part after the EFA initially confirmed that he'd returned a positive COVID-19 test, saying in a statement: "The medical survey conducted on our first national football team mission showed that our international player Mohamed Salah [of] Liverpool was infected with coronavirus after his survey came back positive.

"Although he is not suffering from any symptoms, the rest of the team tested negative. Our international star was subjected to the medical protocol after the coordination of the national team doctor, Dr. Mohamed Abu Alala, with his English club Liverpool."

However, the tweet that accompanied that statement has since been deleted, with an update later adding that 'three' unspecified players from the Egypt and Togo teams have returned positive results, with further tests to be conducted.

There are also reports that Salah attended his brother's wedding in Egypt, during the break, while he was also honoured with an 'Inspirer' award by the EFA in his country.

Watan News in Egypt insists that Salah's condition is not confirmed, while he has not shown any sign of symptoms.

If confirmed positive however, Salah's absence would not only a big blow for his country, but also for Premier League champions Liverpool. The Reds sit just behind Leicester and Tottenham after a steady start to the 2020/21 campaign, but Jurgen Klopp's squad have been ravaged by injury problems of late, along with a separate coronavirus diagnosis for Naby Keita.

Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both long-term absentees with knee injuries, while Fabinho - who could deputise for either at centre half - has also ruled out of late because of an hamstring issue. Throw Trent Alexander-Arnold's calf problem into the mix, and it's easy to understand why Klopp - and a number of other managers - are becoming increasingly frustrated with this season's congested fixture schedule.

As for Salah, he has been in good touch as Liverpool look to defend their title, and netted from the penalty spot in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Manchester City. But he could now miss their crunch clash with Leicester on 21 November, as well as the Champions League tie with Atalanta, due to be played four days later.

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