Opponent Watch: Mohamed Salah will not play vs Chelsea despite Liverpool return from AFCON

Jurgen Klopp says Mohamed Salah won’t participate in Liverpool vs Chelsea

Mohamed Salah is in contention to miss THE Premier League match against Chelsea after the Liverpool forward suffered a fresh injury on national team duty at the African Cup of Nations.

The Blues will travel to Anfield on January 30th, given that the Reds could be without their star forward, which may give Chelsea an edge. Following his disappointing last campaign, the Egyptian has bounced back and has commanded the Reds’ forward line, scoring 14 goals in 20 appearances.

It will be a big blow for Liverpool because they will miss a difference maker in front of the goal. However, despite his absence, the Anfield side have remained at the top of their performance and at the summit of the league. Chelsea shouldn’t become overly sanguine because we’ve continued to let in easy goals and have been defending poorly.

Jurgen Klopp told Lewis Steele, as cited by Fabrizio Romano via X, that even if Salah recovers in time for the Chelsea encounter, he would not play in the game because he is flying back to the national squad for the AFCON.

“If he is fit before the final, then he will probably go back to the AFCON.”

Salah has never taken home an international trophy with Egypt; their previous attempt to win the competition ended in a loss to Senegal in the championship game. It seems sense that he would want to accomplish something with his country’s team, but a lot will rely on how Egypt does without him. He is going to stay at Liverpool and be eligible to play against us if they are unable to make it to the round of 16.

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The Reds have been playing at the forefront of their game despite his absence. Their recent 4-0 victory against Bournemouth should be enough to show that they will be more than primed to play us, and we should be ready for a fierce battle.