Liverpool are facing the uncomfortable reality of being without star Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah for as many as four months next season, due to rescheduling of major events in the fight against Covid-19.
Salah could feature for Egypt as one of a quota of players aged over 23 for the Tokyo Olympics which has been moved to 2021. The Olympics were originally scheduled for July this year, but were postponed earlier this week.
The new dates for the Olympics are yet to be determined.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, providing the threat of coronavirus has been extinguished, will be played over January and February in Cameroon.
CONCERNED: Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp. Picture: Jon Super/AP.
Salah was on the scoresheet for Liverpool against Bournemouth on March 7 before the English Premier League (EPL) season was suspended due to the spread of Covid-19, taking his EPL tally to 70.
The strike also moved Salah to second on the all-time list for goals scored for a single club, behind only Alan Shearer who scored 79 goals in his first 100 matches for Blackburn Rovers.
In the process, Salah has passed Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sergio Aguero and Fernando Torres on the list for most goals scored for a single club in their first 100 games.
OVERTAKEN: Sergio Aguero. Picture: Reuters.
The ‘Egyptian King’ has also snuck into third place on the top-scorers list this season with his total of 16. Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy leads the way on 19 goals.
If Salah manages to top the goalscoring charts, it will be the third season in a row he has achieved this feat. In his first season for Liverpool in 2017/2018 he notched up an incredible 32 goals, and scored 22 in 2018/2019.
Should he go on to win it for a third season in a row, Salah would become the third player in EPL history to do so after Shearer (1994-1997) and Thierry Henry (2003-2006).
undefinedAnother record in sight for Salah, is the quickest to 100 goals for Liverpool across all competitions. Currently, Salah has 91 goals from 143 games, some way ahead of Fowler who brought up his century of goals from 165 matches.
African News Agency