Why is Mo Salah Not Playing in Saudi Arabia vs Egypt Today?

Mohamed Salah has had a panache about his game since he first came into the footballing scene with Chelsea before reclaiming his destiny as one of the world's best players at Liverpool. The veteran right winger, who on his day is unplayable, has singlehandedly, through a Herculean effort, propelled his country from a sidelined African side to a potential competitor for the world title.

Now that Egypt is set to make its 4th appearance in the World Cup, its captain Mohamed Salah has been unexpectedly ruled out of their preparation friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Spain, respectively. This raises serious doubts for Egypt to be competent against European giants and Euro winners Spain, especially without their star player shouldering all the burden. Although Mo Salah not playing today, does allow other youngsters to come to the fore and give their nations helm a helping hand, which is essential in a long-drawn-out competition like the World Cup.

Salah's leadership, creativity, and finishing have transformed the Pharaohs from a defensively solid but offensively limited side into a competitive force capable of reaching major finals. This Zeal is showcased adequately in Egypt's AFCON campaign, a tournament which is held in high prestige throughout Africa. Here, Salah delivered one of his most prolific tournament performances, scoring four goals and providing at least one assist in the group and knockout stages, helping his team advance to the semi-finals.

Mohamed Salah Injury and Availability

Mohamed Salah's injury was sustained during Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League round-of-16 second leg clash against Galatasaray. In keeping with his usual highly motivated self, Salah played a fantastic game to salvage the previous 1-0 defeat, to eventually overturn the score to an aggregate of 4-1, through the team's effort. Salah scored the final goal of the tie around the 60th minute, but shortly after signaled to the bench for a change citing some muscle problem.

The injury is essentially described as a hamstring or general muscular issue of a mild intensity; thus, the recovery time is not expected to be drawn out excessively. The timing of the injury, however, is bittersweet as although it provides Liverpool's key man, some much-needed buffer to rest before the most hectic part of the footballing season, it takes away from Egypt the centre of their system in the preparation of the upcoming World Cup saga.

The tumult doesn't stop there, as this injury comes after Mo Salah's emotional announcement confirming his intentions not to renew his contract at the club of his life, Liverpool, where he has won almost everything there is to win. This will thus keep the winger motivated to come back better than ever, to run back the times and show us a glimpse of the precipice of his prime.