Daily Times

GROZNY: Mohamed Salah gave Egypt’s World Cup hopes a huge boost on Wednesday when he joined a squad training session at their Grozny base. The Pharaohs’ superstar was sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid on May 26, casting doubt on his World Cup participation. He took part in his first training session since the injury, going through a range of warm-up exercises with his teammates. Team doctor Mohamed Abou al-Ela said Salah “participated in part of the training with the team and completed the other part alone”. Team director Ihab Lahita was cagey about his progress, saying there was no guarantee Salah will play in Egypt’s Group A opener against Uruguay on Friday. “There’s a good degree of progress but no definitive decision on whether he takes part, as we are following his case day by day,” he told reporters.

The player sat out Egypt’s first training session after arriving in Russia but was optimistic about his prospects. “I’m excited. God willing I’m well-prepared and things are going well and my morale is high,” he had said Sunday.

Published in Daily Times, June 14^th 2018.