Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has tested positive for coronavirus, Egypt’s football association said on Friday.
The EFA said in a statement that Salah does not suffer from any symptoms and added that the remaining members of the team had tested negative. The two-time African Footballer of the Year will undergo further tests in coming hours, the federation added.
Salah is on international duty for Egypt’s African Cup of Nations qualifying rounds. The African side are scheduled to meet Togo in back-to-back fixtures on Sunday and Tuesday. The first match is at home for Egypt.
Salah was observing medical protocols agreed in consultations between doctors in Egypt and Liverpool, a coronavirus hotspot, and self isolating in a Cairo hotel room, reported AFP.
The 28-year-old has been a constant fixture in Liverpool’s XI in the Premier League and could now miss the next couple of games at least for the defending champions.
Liverpool are also in the middle of an injury crisis in defence which deepened with the news that defender Joe Gomez is set to miss a major part of the season after suffering a knee injury in England training.
The Premier League champions are expected to be without talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk for the rest of the season after the Dutchman suffered cruciate ligament damage last month.
Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss the next month after picking up a calf injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City, while Fabinho – who had deputised at centre-back since Van Dijk’s injury – is also recovering from a hamstring problem.
Earlier in the season, two other Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara had also tested positive for the virus.