Liverpool have eased fears over Mohamed Salah, after initial checks appear to show his injury in their 2-1 win against Leicester City is not as serious as first feared.
But furious manager Jurgen Klopp believes the time has finally come to offer more protection to the Egyptian, to stop the superstars of world football being kicked out of the game.
Salah was raked down the Achilles by midfielder Hamza Choudhury, and even though he tried to continue, was forced to limp out of the match.
That raised fears of a serious injury, and afterwards, Klopp was furious. He initially turned his anger on Choudhury, but later raised a wider question about protection for players like Mohamed Salah.
The German coach believes football’s lawmakers must now act to outlaw challenges like the one which kicked his brilliant forward out of the match.
“This kind of challenge to me – I don’t want to speak anymore about the player – but this has to be a red card. It is just too dangerous,” he said.
“There are more dangerous challenges, it is possible, but do you see more dangerous challenges than that? It is really rare.
“It not that I want to see players sent off. The best players are quick technicians and it should not be possible if you take them down this way you get a second chance.
“That’s it. It is more a general thing than this. It looked to me in the moment completely on purpose – he is away, stop the situation.”
The fans offered a collective intake of breath when Salah went off, and afterwards, he suggested he has an ankle issue. When asked about it, he conceded he didn’t yet know how serious it was.
Klopp also said he “wasn’t sure” about the injury, but that it was serious enough to force him off. Medics though, checked the player out, and even though he had swelling and pain, fears of a serious injury to keep him out for some months were eased.
Instead, club doctors are hopeful he will be treated during the international break, and should be able to return to training when the Premier League gets back underway in two weeks time.
