Arne Slot has admitted his concerns after Mo Salah came off with a hamstring injury in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, as it is “hard” to force him off.
Salah may have played his final game for Liverpool as, with only a month left of the season, he limped off with a left hamstring complaint on Saturday.
The Egyptian appeared to acknowledge the situation with a wry smile before he left the pitch applauding all four corners of Anfield, with fans now fearing his season is over.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Slot admitted that, given “how hard it is for him to leave the pitch,” it is clearly a worry over Salah’s fitness.
“Another win and another injury. It’s the story of our season,” the head coach remarked.
“It’s too early to say but we all know Mo and how hard it is for him to leave the pitch.
“For Mo to leave the pitch, it shows you something but we have to wait and see how bad it is.”
With only four games left and a hamstring injury potentially ruling Salah out for over a month, he may now leave in frustrating circumstances.
In his post-match press conference, Slot was asked directly whether it was a worry that the forward’s season could be over, replying: “We don’t know. That’s the best answer I can give.
“If I say ‘there might be chance [his season is over]’ probably all the headlines would be ‘there might be a chance’.
“We simply don’t know, but what we do know is that the season is over in four or five weeks.
“Not a lot of games are being played, so we have to wait and see how his injury is, if he is able to return to play.
“What I do know about Mo is that he’s taken, throughout all these years, such good care of his body that he will have the minimum time required to recover from an injury.
“Let’s hope for the best that he’s available for the last part.”
Has Salah injured his left hamstring before?
It is not the first time Salah has picked up an injury to his left hamstring, with the 33-year-old suffering a tear while on Egypt duty in January 2024 before spending more time out with a recurrence of the issue soon after.
The hope will be that Salah’s injury settles and the damage is not as serious as feared, with a strain unlikely to rule him out for the rest of the season.
But as Slot pointed out, it takes a lot for Liverpool’s No. 11 to leave the pitch voluntarily – and particularly in these final games of his career at Anfield when a perfect farewell will be on his mind.