Salah's delight and agony

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored direct from a corner but was later injured as Egypt romped to a 4-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win over eSwatini on Friday.

The striker went down holding his leg as the Group J match drew to a close in Cairo, resumed after receiving treatment, and was almost immediately withdrawn.

Speaking after the match, Egypt assistant coach Hany Ramzy told BeIN Sports: "The initial diagnosis, according to the team doctor, is a strong muscle strain. It is not a tear, I think it is not serious."

A spokesman for the team's medical department told the www.Kooora.com website: "He (Salah) had a light strain, we will do a scan as soon as possible.

"I doubt he can play next Tuesday. We will be sure after the scan," he added, referring to the return match against eSwatini in Manzini.

It was later confirmed that Salah has been permitted to return to England to receive treatment.

"Javier Aguirre has decided to let Mohamed Salah return to his club and not participate in the Swaziland match on Tuesday to give him more rest," a statement posted on Facebook confirmed.

"During the previous match against Swaziland, Salah complained of stress in the musculoskeletal muscle. He was examined medically and radiation was performed on the area of complaint after the game."

With eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) ranked even lower than Niger, there were expectations that Salah could get back on the goal trail at the Al Salam Stadium.

He blasted a shot wide with Egypt three goals ahead before curling a corner into the net on the stroke of half-time.

Salah fluffed a chance to net again by missing from inside the box during the second half after combining with Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny.

Captain Ahmed Elmohamady, Amr Warda and Mahmoud Hassan also scored for Egypt and Sibonginkosi Gamedze snatched a late eSwatini goal.