‘He should stay no matter what’ - Mohamed Salah slammed for leaving AFCON & returning to Liverpool for injury treatment as Egypt legend weighs in

The Liverpool star picked up a hamstring injury during Egypt's 2-2 draw against Ghana in their second group game in AFCON. Shortly after his injury, the winger returned to his club to undergo treatment and is set to miss the Pharaohs’ group stage match against Cape Verde on Monday. The 31-year-old's decision to leave the national team camp did not go down well with legendary Egyptian footballer Ahmed Hassan who felt that being the captain of his country, the attacker should have stayed back with the national side.

Speaking to the Mirror, the Egypt legend said, "I’ve always backed Salah and I was very happy with his presence as captain of the Egyptian national team. I had no problems with what he said, but it turned out that he was plotting his departure from the Egypt camp.

"Do the AFCON regulations allow a player to leave the national team’s camp and come back again? He had the possibility of bringing in someone from Liverpool’s medical staff to be with him during the competition. Again, he is the captain. He should stay with the team no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on."

He added, "He even said himself that it’s the Egyptian national team, not Salah’s national team, and this is true. We have confidence in all the players who are there and they must fight for the title."

While Hassan has questioned the Egyptian skipper's commitment, Salah himself claimed that the national team is not entirely dependent on him and that there many competent players in the squad who can take his place and win games for the team.

The former Chelsea star's further participation in the ongoing AFCON will depend on whether the Pharaohs beat Cape Verde on Monday in a must-win group-stage clash.