:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59273523/941992300.jpg.0.jpg)
We were worried about one of Liverpool’s two remaining centre-backs getting injured in the match against Manchester City. How silly of us. Virgil Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren came through the 3-0 in fine shape. Meanwhile, we took our eye off the player we should have actually been staring health and fitness at. It was Mohamed Salah.
Salah was excellent against City at Anfield. He made Kyle Walker kyle walker at nearly every go. Salah’s deft touches were the difference for Liverpool as they pressed City, won possession and sprang forward. So was his goal. So was his assist. So was his hair, probably. Just a masterclass in affecting a game.
And then someone said “groin”. “Did someone say groin?” The next thing we knew Salah was heading down the tunnel with his groin on fire.
No, it wasn’t on fire. But it was on a stretcher.
The manager was asked to provide an assessment of the Egyptian’s injury after the match, groin related or not.
“I don’t know in the moment,” said Jürgen Klopp.
“He came to the sideline and said he feels sometimes something. For me, that was enough for me to not even ask the doc how he was, we immediately took him off the pitch.
“After the game I asked him and he said, ‘I will be good, it will be fine’. But now we have to wait for the real diagnosis, not Mo’s self-diagnosis.
“We will see, I don’t know at the moment.”
With Liverpool up 3-0 and Salah talking about a weird thing he’s feeling sometimes, it’s a time as good as any to get the player off the field. Bringing Wijnaldum on helped the team hunker down until the final whistle and it gave Klopp a later chance to give Dominic Solanke a run out in the biggest show going. The young striker didn’t have much to work with at that stage of the match but he did his job and got himself involved and ran a bunch.
I expect we’ll hear something soon from Liverpool on Salah’s situation. Until then, sit tight, try to enjoy the big win without letting the stress of the reverse fixture into your minds, while you await the physios verdict on whether or not Mohamed Salah’s groin will be needing crutches. Easy.