Egypt rests Salah for South Sudan match over artificial pitch concerns
Mohamed Salah will miss Egypt’s fixture against South Sudan after the Egyptian Football Association said the decision was agreed with the player and coaching staff. The forward started against Angola but was substituted after an hour, with the team citing the playing surface and injury prevention.
Mohamed Salah has been left out of Egypt’s squad for its September 29 fixture against South Sudan, with the Egyptian Football Association attributing the decision to concerns about the artificial playing surface. Salah started Egypt’s goalless draw with Angola in Cairo on Friday but was replaced after 60 minutes. The EFA said the decision to rest him for the South Sudan match had been agreed between the player and the national team’s technical staff before the Angola game.
The association said coach Hossam Hassan and his staff preferred not to expose the forward to the surface and wanted to protect him. Salah therefore did not travel with the squad to Juba for the fixture. Some players and teams believe artificial pitches can increase injury risks, although research has not established that such surfaces necessarily produce a higher overall injury rate.
Salah, 34, left Liverpool at the end of last season after nine years at the club. He made 442 appearances for Liverpool, scored 257 goals and won nine major trophies during his time at Anfield. He joined Turkish club Trabzonspor and has made six Super Lig appearances this season, scoring seven goals and providing two assists, according to the supplied report.
Egypt’s match against Angola was its first since reaching the last 16 of the World Cup in the summer.
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