Egypt team doc claims Salah played through injury in Champions League final

Egypt's team doctor has stated Mohamed Salah was still suffering with an injury when he played for Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Liverpool talisman Salah suffered an adductor injury in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea on May 14, and was unavailable for the Reds' next Premier League fixture.

The forward came off the bench to score in a 3-1 win over Wolves on the final day before playing the full match against Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, though he was unable to inspire Liverpool to a seventh European crown as Vinicius Junior's second-half goal gave Los Blancos a 1-0 victory.

Salah then captained Egypt in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea on June 5.

After that match, Egypt coach Ehab Galal claimed Liverpool had asked Salah to have an X-ray prior to featuring for his country, but he refused.

Egypt's team doctor Mohamed Abou El Ela said Salah, who turned 30 on Wednesday, had stated Galal had to prioritise the Guinea match for the skipper to feature in due to the injury he was carrying.

"Salah's injury occurred during the FA Cup final in the adductor muscles, then he played against Wolves and in the Champions League final, and all of this in just 14 days," he told On Time Sports.

"We send and receive players with medical reports, and Liverpool's said that he had pain and should get an X-ray, there's not a 100 per cent fit player, but there's the question of whether he can push himself and play without risk.

"The club thought that one game is enough and we chose the Guinea game because the second against Ethiopia would be hard for him to travel in a long flight. He couldn't play another game after three days."

Across all competitions, Salah played 4,013 minutes for Liverpool in the 2021-22 season – the fourth-highest total in Jurgen Klopp's squad, behind Alisson (4,890), Virgil van Dijk (4,620) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (4,233).

Of his 51 appearances, 45 were starts, with Salah scoring 31 goals and providing 15 assists as Liverpool won the FA Cup and EFL Cup and finished second in the Premier League along with their run to the Champions League final.