Egypt manager provides welcome injury update on Mohamed Salah

Egypt manager Rui Vitoria has said that Salah's injury is "not dangerous" after the winger was forced off in his side's Africa Cup of Nations draw with Ghana on Thursday.

The Liverpool No. 11 went down off the ball with an apparent hamstring issue and had to be substituted just before half-time of Egypt's second group stage fixture of the competition.

The injury scare sent immediate alarm bells ringing on Merseyside. However, Salah did not have to leave the stadium in Abidjan and was later seen sitting on the floor in front of the dugout, while was able to walk through the mixed zone unaided after the game – though he did not stop to provide comment on his fitness to journalists.

Addressing his captain's issue in the post-match press conference manager Vitoria outlined his 'hope' that the hamstring issue was not serious.

"I hope it's not a big problem," Vitoria said told reporters. "But it was a problem in the first-half, because we lost one time to make a substitution. In the second-half we only had two moments to make substitutions."

Asked about the nature of the injury, he added: "Now I don't know because it's [too] early to see something. I think it's not dangerous, but let's see if Salah recovers."

Despite losing their captain and talisman, Egypt came from 2-1 down to rescue a point against Ghana – who were inspired by West Ham's Mohammed Kudus on the night.

The draw leaves the Pharoahs in second place in Group behind Cape Verde, who they face on Monday, 22 January.

The top two teams in each AFCON group qualify automatically for the last 16, while the best third-placed sides will also go through, leaving Egypt in a decent position to make the knockouts despite a troubled start to the tournament.

Back on Merseyside, Liverpool's injury issues are numerous. The Reds have as many as eight stars unfit to face Bournemouth this weekend, while Salah and Endo unavailable due to international commitments.