MO SALAH left Liverpool fans dreaming of a shock early return to Premier League action by sharing an enigmatic training picture.
And despite Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp ruling the AFCON crock out for two games, some supporters even hoped in vain that Salah would be back to “cook Chelsea” at Anfield on Wednesday night.
EPAMo Salah suffered an agonising injury for Egypt vs Ghana[/caption]
X @mosalahLiverpool star Salah sent many fans into a frenzy of speculation with this picture, which he posted without any words[/caption]
The Egypt hero, 31, faced a backlash after returning early from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah suffered a hamstring injury against Ghana on January 18 that his country believed would have kept him out until the quarter-finals this Friday and Saturday.
As it happened, Egypt crashed out at the last-16 stage, losing 8-7 on penalties to DR Congo in a massive shock following a 1-1 draw.
But Liverpool supporters were encouraged by Salah’s teasing post on social media on Wednesday afternoon.
He was shown gently jogging along the side of a training field – with no-one else in the picture and no words to explain his situation.
One fan responded: “My guy is back” while another wrote “Are you thinking what I am thinking?” and a third said, “Back stronger, King”.
A fourth supporter even claimed: “This pic is scary to Chelsea fans.”
But Klopp’s more realistic approach was confirmed when he left Salah out of his match-day squad to face Mauricio Pochettino‘s Blues.
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The German said earlier: “Mo’s not ready for this game or the next. He’s injured and a muscle injury takes time.”
Salah himself posted on X earlier in the week: “I will do everything possible to be ready as soon as possible and return to the national team as was agreed upon from the beginning.
“I also love it and its people… try harder.”
Egypt had hoped Salah could return to AFCON in the Ivory Coast if he recovered smoothly.
But that potential headache for Liverpool was removed by Egypt’s shock exit.
Salah netted a late penalty equaliser against Mozambique in the group opener but went off hurt in the second game against Ghana as his country scraped through to the KO stage via three draws.