The Egyptian Football Association announced today, Friday, that national team captain Mohamed Salah will miss the upcoming match against Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations due to injury. The association stated in a post on its Facebook page, "The scans that Mohamed Salah underwent have shown he has a strain in the hamstring, and he will be absent from the next two matches for the national team in the Africa Cup of Nations against Cape Verde, and then in the round of 16, should the team qualify."
Salah, who is 31 years old, sustained the injury near the end of the first half during Egypt's 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday in the second round of Group B in the Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Ivory Coast. He fell to the ground and indicated to the coaching staff that he needed to be substituted due to pain in his hamstring, prompting Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria to replace him with Mostafa Fathi.
Egypt is currently in second place in the group with two points from two draws against Mozambique and Ghana. The seven-time continental champions will face Cape Verde in the third and final group stage match next Monday. Cape Verde has already qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Mozambique 3-0 in their second match today.
The loss of Salah, Liverpool’s leading scorer who is nearing his 100th international cap for his country, is a significant blow for Egypt, which started its campaign in the tournament with two consecutive draws. Salah scored a last-minute penalty on Sunday after a VAR decision, allowing Egypt to equalize 2-2 with Mozambique and avoid an embarrassing defeat.
