Salah’s recovery to take 3 to 4 weeks, Liverpool physio says

Mohamed Salah faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup with Liverpool's medical team believing he faces "three to four weeks" to recover from the injury he suffered in the Champions League final.

The Egyptian forward, who has scored 44 goals for Liverpool this season and was supposed to be the torchbearer for his nation's hopes at the upcoming World Cup, was brought down by Sergio Ramos and landed forcefully on his shoulder. Salah left the field in tears midway through the first-half of the match.

Liverpool club physiotherapist Ruben Pons, who travelled with Salah to Spain, where the forward will receive treatment, told Spanish daily newspaper Marca that Salah’s recovery will take upto four weeks but the staff will look to reduce the time needed for Salah to start playing again.

“Once we knew the injury we planned the treatment, he is sad about what happened but he is totally focused on recovery and seeing when he can be ready. He is going to mark the recovery times, in principle it will be from three to four weeks but we are going to try to reduce those deadlines, that’s the big goal,” Pons said.

While Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has come in for fierce criticism for the tackle, Pons said he was not of the opinion that there was a deliberate attempt to cause injury.

"Salah has not told me anything about Sergio Ramos," Pons told the Partidazo show on COPE. "I do not think he's angry with him. It was an accidental action.

The Egyptian FA has claimed that Salah was in high spirits and will be looking to return quickly to action with his team. “Salah is already more animated, much more optimistic. It's not a very typical injury in football, maybe more in goalkeepers. The Egyptian Football Federation believes that in three or four weeks he will be recovered. We are going to do double session every day and we will try to reduce the recovery period,” Pons concluded.

The World Cup begins on 14 June, with the host nation Russia taking on Saudi Arabia in the first Group A match.

Egypt’s first match, against Uruguay, takes place on the second day of the tournament.