Virgil Van Dijk Hopeful Mohamed Salah Hasn't Played Final Liverpool Game

Virgil van Dijk has backed Mohamed Salah to win his race against time to pull on the Liverpool shirt one last time before his Anfield departure. 

The Egyptian superstar left the pitch in tears during the weekend victory over Crystal Palace, sparking fears that a legendary career on Merseyside has reached a premature end.

The Liverpool captain is refusing to accept that Salah has already made his final appearance for the club.

Despite the grim optics of Salah limping off, Van Dijk believes the 33-year-old’s powers of recovery could see him return for the final home games. 

"I hope so," the defender said when asked if Salah would play again. "There will be a medical assessment and then that will determine what the issue is going to be. I know he is doing everything in his power to be back on the pitch as soon as possible."

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The timing of the injury is particularly cruel given that Liverpool have just four matches remaining in their campaign. 

With Salah set to leave when his contract expires in June, the prospect of him missing a stadium farewell is a heavy burden for the squad. Van Dijk admitted that the situation weighed on his teammate's mind as he left the field on Saturday.

"If you get injured at this stage of the season, especially in the situation he is in, there is only two more home games left for him it’s a combination of feelings that go through your mind when you go off," Van Dijk explained. 

"The reality is he has to get scanned, assessed, hopefully he won’t be long but at this point I don’t know. Maybe he’s back next week, maybe not. I have no idea."

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Salah’s legacy at Anfield is already set in stone, with 257 goals in 440 appearances making him the third-highest