Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been struggling with injury for two months and played in the Champions League final despite his fitness issues, the Egypt national team doctor says.
Salah sustained an injury in the first half of the Reds' FA Cup final win against Chelsea on May 14.
He was subsequently left out of their next Premier League match and was limited to just 32 minutes in the last domestic game of the season against Wolves amid fears that he would not be able to play against Real Madrid in the European decider.
What has Egypt's team doctor claimed?
Salah returned to play the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 loss in Paris and went on to captain Egypt in their African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea earlier this month.
Egypt team doctor Mohamed Abou El Ela has revealed that the 30-year-old was still struggling with his injury when he joined the national squad.
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He told On Time Sports: "Salah's injury occurred during the FA Cup final in the adductor muscles, then he played against Wolves and in the Champions League final, and all of this in just 14 days.
"We read a statistic that he's the second highest player in terms of minutes played this season.
"We send and receive players with medical reports, and Liverpool's said that he had pain and should get an x-ray, there's not a 100% fit player, but there's the question of whether he can push himself and play without risk.
"The club thought that one game is enough and we chose the Guinea game because the second against Ethiopia would be hard for him to travel in a long flight. He couldn't play another game after three days."
How many games did Salah play in total in 2021-22?
Salah featured in 51 games for Liverpool in all competitions, starting 45 of those matches.
He also made 15 appearances for Egypt, including the 1-0 win over Guinea on June 5.
Seven of those matches for Egypt came at the African Cup of Nations, where he helped his country reach the final before they were beaten on penalties by Senegal.
That's a grand total of 66 matches played in the 2021-22 campaign.
Is Salah staying at Liverpool?
The attacker has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool and the club are determined to convince him to sign an extension.
However, both parties have been unable to reach an agreement thus far, sparking reports that he could leave in the near future.
Indeed, The Athletic reported that Salah - who has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona - would prefer to stay in England if he left the Reds.
Depite the rumours, Salah has confirmed that he will stay at Anfield for at least one more year, saying in May: "I'm staying next season for sure. That’s clear. I’m staying next season. Let’s see after that."
Liverpool are set to lose one key forward player this summer, however, as Sadio Mane is on the verge of a €41 million (£35m/$43m) transfer to German giants Bayern Munich.
