Mohamed Salah injury revealed as Man City learn Liverpool and Arsenal title race impact

Fears over Mohamed Salah's injury have been tempered as the Liverpool star will miss Egypt's next two Africa Cup of Nations matches due to a back injury.

Should the Pharaohs progress into the knockout stages of the tournament, the 31-year-old is set to miss the first round and will be able to return from January in a boost for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's side were prepared to be without their 204-goal talisman until February, with the expectation they would progress throughout the competition in West Africa.

In the context of the Premier League title race, should Egypt fail to beat Cape Verde on January 22 and if either Mozambique or Ghana win, Rui Vitoria's side will be eliminated at the first hurdle. This means that Salah could return for Liverpool as early as January 31 when they face Chelsea at Anfield.

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Salah was forced off in the first-half against Ghana on Thursday (January 18) as Egypt had to come from behind twice after Mohammed Kudus' brace. In a post to X on Friday night, the Egyptian Football Federation confirmed that Salah has suffered a strain in his back.

"Mohamed Salah (has) suffered a strain in his back muscle and will miss two matches in the African Nations," the statement began.

"The x-rays that Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, underwent, showed that he suffered a strain in the posterior muscle, and he will miss the team’s next two matches in the African Nations against Cape Verde, and then the round of 16 match in the event of qualification."

As it stands in Group B, Egypt sit second with two points going into their final