Mohamed Salah is out of Liverpool’s Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The 33-year-old asked to be substituted after feeling discomfort in the second half of the 4-0 victory over Galatasaray in their Champions League last 16 decider at Anfield.
The Egypt international recovered from missing a first half penalty to set-up Hugo Ekitike for Liverpool’s second and scored their fourth.
The extent of Salah’s muscle injury remains unclear but Arne Slot, the Liverpool head coach, hinted that he faces a race to be fit for the side’s return to action after the international break.
“(He is) not available for tomorrow,” Slot told reporters at a press conference on Friday. “The good thing for us is we go into an international break. The bad thing for Egypt is he can’t go there.
“We are also hoping with what Mo has shown in the past that he can recover faster than other players can in similar situations because he takes such good care of his body. History has shown that he can be back earlier than some others but it is only two weeks until we go again so let’s hope in that period of time he can be back.”
It is the latest injury blow Liverpool have faced this season and leaves Slot with a selection dilemma for the right wing role. Defender Joe Gomez is also a doubt. While he was on the bench against Galatasaray, Slot admitted it was unlikely he could have come on.
“Joe was on the bench but he wasn’t able to come in,” Slot explained. “We tried to postpone it as far as we could but he already told me before the game that it didn’t feel good. He might be available for tomorrow but definitely not to start.”
It is a quick turnaround for Liverpool as they face a 12:30 kick-off against Brighton after playing Gala on Wednesday night.
Slot has repeatedly said he does not mind featuring in the early kick-off but pointed out that the schedule does not favour his side, especially when facing an opponent like Fabian Hurzeler’s intense side, leaving the Dutch coach with some potential rotation dilemmas.
“(Brighton have) a very attractive and interesting style which makes it complicated as we only have 62 hours of rest in between where we put in an enormous shift on Wednesday in terms of physical performance,” Slot said.
“Tell me what is smart and I have to make that decision but Jeremie Frimpong, for example, is such an explosive player, made so many sprints and so many times this season, unfortunately, when games came fast he got injured. With Joe being out, you can already understand which questions we have to answer.
“We are the only team that played on Tuesday or Wednesday in Europe and all the others are playing on Sunday. We are the lucky ones that have to play a 12:30 away game against one of the most intense teams in the league but we will be ready for it. I don’t mind playing 12:30 but I do mind playing Sunday evening, Wednesday evening and then putting that team on the 12:30 kickoff for the sixth or seventh time this season. That is not what you would prefer as a manager.”