Despite the fact that one writer has pointed out a potential advantage for the Reds in the event that the 31-year-old does not feature at the weekend, the Egypt forward is expected to resume full training this week, which has fueled the expectation that he might play a part in the matchup against Pep Guardiola’s team at Anfield.
For the second time, our number 11 finds himself in the heart of a dispute between his club and his country.
The Egyptian FA has insisted that he will be called up for their matches in March if he plays for Jurgen Klopp’s team in the meantime.
During an appearance on the Journo Insight show on The Redmen TV, Neil Jones made the following statement about Mohamed Salah: “I would be surprised if he is involved against Sparta Prague, but I think Liverpool would love to have him by their side for twenty minutes off the bench or whatever against City on Sunday.” My fingers are crossed.
It was reported by Klopp that there is a possibility that he will return to training this week.
I am curious as to whether Liverpool would truly say, “Swerve the next week, we’ll take an extra week to get you ready” in the event that he does not get the opportunity to return to training this week and hence misses the City game.
Because of this, it is possible that he would not be selected for the Egypt squad.
Then you have a fresh Salah coming back, who should hopefully be entirely healed and recovered just in time for the matchups that come after the international break.
It’s possible that Jurgen Klopp will be confronted with a crucial decision over whether or not to use Salah in the match against Manchester City on Sunday.
Jones makes a case for playing the long game with the 31-year-old forward.
If the forward is unable to play until the Egypt squad for their upcoming matches is named, and Hossam Hassan is able to properly omit him from the squad, then he will have additional time on Merseyside to get into peak condition for the remaining matches of the season after Easter.
On the other hand, if he is in any way fit to play a part at the weekend, it would seem crazy to leave out our leading scorer for our most important match of the season so far, especially when taking into consideration his record versus Guardiola’s team.
Since the beginning of 2018, Salah has scored in all but one of City’s visits to Anfield.
Additionally, he has either scored or set up a goal in each of his past seven outings against the defending champions in the Premier League, according to Transfermarkt.
If the Egyptian is able to play on Sunday, he will almost probably be called upon at some point, even if it means that he will be absent from the game for the remainder of this month because he will be on national team duty.
This could have a beneficial longer-term effect for our season in terms of him being primed for the run-in, provided that his country’s FA stays true to their promise that they won’t call him up until he plays for Liverpool in the meanwhile.
If he doesn’t make it in time for the weekend, at least it could have a positive influence on our season.