Liverpool say the leg injury Mohamed Salah suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations is “worse than first feared”, but Egypt remain hopeful he can return for a potential semi-final.

Salah was injured in Egypt's 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday in Group B.

Egypt reached the knockouts on Monday after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Cape Verde as Salah watched from the stands.

Liverpool said the 31-year-old will return on Wednesday for an “intensive rehabilitation programme”.

The club added Salah's injury was “worse than first feared”, but he will be treated with a “view to being back in action as soon as possible for club and country, giving him the best chance to return to compete at Afcon” if Egypt continue to progress.

“It makes sense that he's doing the rehab with us,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on Sunday, before Salah's return was confirmed.

The Egyptian football association had initially said on Friday that Salah would only feature in the tournament again if his nation advance to a quarter-final on 2 or 3 February.

Klopp added: “I would say if Egypt qualifies for the final, if he's fit before the final, then probably yes.”

However, Salah's agent Ramy Abbas Issa subsequently appeared to cast doubt on the forward's chances of taking any further part in this year's Afcon.

“Mohammed's injury is more serious than first thought and he will be out for 21-28 days, and not two games,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“His best chance at participating in the current Afcon is by undergoing intensive rehabilitation in the UK and rejoining the team as soon as he is fit.”

If Salah was out for 21 days from the date he sustained the injury, he would not be available again until 8 February, three days before the Afcon final.

Klopp had suggested on Friday that Salah's hamstring problem was likely to be severe, given the player had missed just 10 league games for the Reds in more than six seasons.

“He was shocked and couldn't see why he was hit by something so intense,” said the German.

“You have these hamstring injuries in a different way. He felt it and we know how rarely Mo goes off, or needs to go off, so it is definitely something.”

The last of Egypt's seven titles at the Cup of Nations came in 2010, a year before Salah made his international debut and they finished runners-up in the 2017 and 2021 editions.

He scored a late penalty last Sunday to help Egypt draw 2-2 with Mozambique to avoid an embarrassing opening defeat earlier in the tournament.

Salah is convinced he will win the Afcon “sooner or later”.

“I would love to win it, absolutely,” he said. “It will happen somehow - that is what I believe. Whatever I believe, I achieve - so sooner or later, it will happen.

“I have won everything possible but this one, not yet. Everybody knows what it means to any player to win an Africa Cup.” (BBC)

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