Salah out of World Cup?

Mohamed Salah could miss the upcoming World Cup after suffering what is being suspected to be a dislocated shoulder in the Champions League final tonight, reports suggested.

The Egyptian forward, who has scored 44 goals for the club 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. He attempted to play on, but ultimately had to be replaced.

"Yes. Unbelievable. It is something with the shoulder and he would've played on if he could. It doesn't look good,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said when asked whether Salah’s injury was serious enough for him to miss the showcase event.

Salah will now have to travel to hospital where he will undergo an x-ray which will confirm the presence and direction of the dislocation. It will also reveal whether or not Salah has suffered any other fracture. If he has, his spell on the sidelines will be significantly extended.

The Independent reports that according to the Britain's National Health Service (NHS) a dislocated shoulder can take anywhere between 12-16 weeks to heal. With the World Cup beginning in less than two weeks' time, Salah's chances are looking slim to say the least.

Ramos and Salah's hands locked together in an awkward manner as the Spaniard went in for a tackle 26 minutes into the final in Kiev. Salah went off briefly before returning, but broke down in tears as he realised he could no longer continue. The tearful left-footer was consoled by Cristiano Ronaldo among others as he walked off the pitch to be replaced by Adam Lallana.

'IT'S A NIGHTMARE'

Egyptian football journalist Marwan Ahmed summed up the nation's thoughts as he spoke to the BBC.

"Honestly, I think it's a nightmare. There are no words to describe it. There was a minute of silence after we'd seen Salah go down and then when he went down the second time, we knew it wasn't good and that he would leave the pitch," Marwan said. "No Egyptian wanted to see that happen, we've never had an Egyptian in the Champions League final. It's really sad - I can't find the exact words to describe it. Some people were in tears.

"I hope it won't affect his World Cup chances. He's the greatest player in Egypt's history, we haven't reached the World Cup for 28 years and we're just too close for all of our dreams to be shattered."

Without their talisman's presence, Liverpool went on to lose the match 3-1 courtesy of two howlers from goalkeeper Loris Karius and a wondergoal from Gareth Bale.

NO MALICE, SAY LAMPARD AND FERDINAND

In the immediate aftermath of the tackle, Ramos quickly became the most-hated man on Twitter, with Egyptians, Liverpool fans and most neutrals voicing what they considered a 'dirty play'. However, former England internationals Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard defended the Spaniard.

"It's so unfortunate to see something like that a game of this magnitude. At the end of the day it has changed the momentum of this game," Ferdinand said. "I would say I thought it was very good defending from Ramos and I don’t really think he meant to do that."

Former Chelsea captain Lampard added: "No [it’s not intentional]. I mean he’s got close like any good defender should do and sometimes when you get that close and make contact you do interlink arms. It was more unfortunate the way he fell."