It was a rollercoaster evening for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers who own Mohamed Salah (£13.1m).
An early Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) exit for Egypt, and a Gameweek 22 return for Salah, is still a very real prospect.
But FPL’s leading points scorer is now an injury concern, having limped off on the stroke of half-time in Thursday’s two-all draw with Ghana.
SALAH INJURY UPDATE
Salah hit the deck at the end of normal time in the opening 45 minutes, with no opponent around him.
After a short period of on-field treatment for an apparent muscle injury, the winger walked gingerly from the pitch and was substituted.
Egypt coach Rui Vitoria didn’t know the extent of Salah’s injury when grilled after full-time but didn’t think it was too serious an issue.
“I hope it’s not a big problem. 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.
“Now I don’t know [the extent of Salah’s injury] because it’s [too] early to see something. I think it’s not dangerous, but let’s see if Salah recovers.” – Rui Vitoria on Mohamed Salah
On Friday night, the Egyptian FA said that Salah would miss the next two matches – the Matchday 3 clash with Cape Verde on January 22 and, should they get that far, a round-of-16 tie on January 27-29.
WHAT HAPPENS IF EGYPT ARE ELIMINATED NEXT MONDAY?
If Egypt are eliminated next Monday night, their internationals – including Salah, if fit – would be free to resume domestic football.
Salah would be back in good time for Gameweek 22, when Liverpool face Chelsea, but it’s questionable whether he’d be fit enough to feature.
EGYPT: WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO TO QUALIFY
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Scored | Conceded | Goal Diff | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2 | Egypt | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Ghana | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Mozambique | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 | ||
| Above: How Group B of AFCON looks after Matchday 2 | |||||||||||
Egypt know that a victory against already qualified Cape Verde in Matchday 3 next Monday ensures progression to the knockout stages in second place.
A draw might be enough to send Egypt through, either in second or third place.
Egypt could even qualify in second with a one-goal loss, should Ghana a) draw with Mozambique and b) not score more than Egypt in Matchday 3.
It’s all quite convoluted at this stage but the permutations will become clearer after the end of Matchday 2.
WHO EGYPT COULD FACE IN THE ROUND OF 16
| If… | They will play… | This could be… |
| Egypt finish 2nd | Runner-up in Group F | DR Congo |
| Egypt finish 3rd (and are one of the four teams with the best records in 3rd) | Winner in Group C or D | Senegal or Algeria |
There are many countries that Egypt could face in the round of 16 but the nations we’ve listed are based on who the bookies think are the likeliest to finish in the respective positions/groups.
Last-16 opponents wouldn’t come much tougher than Senegal or Algeria, two of the tournament favourites.
Finishing second ought to be a boon for Egypt: DR Congo, for instance, are no shorter than 40/1 to win AFCON.
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