The Egyptian Football Association announced, after testing for the second time, that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah had been infected with COVID-19.
The Reds striker is currently with the Pharaohs before their African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Togo over the next few days.
However, after performing the routine tests, Error The result was positive, which means he will now have to undergo a period of self-isolation.
Salah is said to be showing no symptoms and that Al-Ittihad is in contact with the LFC medical team.
A joint statement on their official Facebook page read: “A second swab was conducted by Mohamed Salah, the star of the national team and the English club Liverpool, and the result showed a positive case for the big star infected with Corona virus, and all procedures are underway. Work is underway to follow the international medical protocol necessary for the situation with the knowledge of Dr. Mohamed Sultan, Chairman of the Committee. Medical Union and Dr. Muhammad Abu Al-Ela, doctor of the national team.
The first swab was positive, but the Egyptian Football Association decided to conduct a second swab to confirm the injury, as the issue of the big star’s injury received great attention from the federation at all levels.
The Egyptian star has high spirits and does not show the usual symptoms of infection, while an isolation room and another room have been prepared for medical follow-up, where the team doctor, Dr. Muhammad Abu Ala, communicates with Dr. Kim Moxen, president of Liverpool Club. Medical staff for follow-up and coordination.
Salah has been one of the Reds’ stars so far this season, but he will not be available now on a visit next week from Leicester City as he is going through what is expected to be a 14-day isolation period.
Covid government rules state that anyone who tests positive must self-isolate for 10 days from the time the test is taken if they are not showing symptoms.
This could take longer if Salah has symptoms, as the government has also emphasized that people should isolate themselves for another 10 days if symptoms appear during their isolation.
People are allowed to stop self-isolating after 10 days if they only have a cough or no symptoms.
However, they should continue to self-isolate after these 10 days if other symptoms such as overheating are present.
This means that Salah is definitely excluded from the next Liverpool match, which will face Leicester City on November 22.
Then the Reds face Atalanta on November 25 before flying to Brighton on November 28 – if Salah doesn’t show symptoms, he will be visible to participate in these matches.
But there will be question marks over whether Salah will appear against Atalanta even if he is legally able to.
He will not be able to return to England until the period of self-isolation ends.
While elite athletes like Salah are not subject to the same quarantine rules as the rest of the country, that means he will not return to England until November 24 – just a day before the Reds’ clash with Atalanta in the Champions League.
The news is likely to come as a major source of frustration for coach Jürgen Klopp, who recently expressed his concerns about the club’s release of its players on international fixtures as the virus continues to spread across much of the planet.
“For us, we feel safe when we’re all together although there are some cases as well,” Klopp said earlier this month.
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“Not a lot but some, and nothing for a while, that’s a good thing, but this is the time we’re in.”
“Yes, the problem with this situation is that we have no power. Not really.
“We are trying to figure out how the protocols work with all the different football associations but it is up to the Football Association to answer or not, so FIFA is not really involved in that.”
Liverpool have already tested positive for both Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara this season while there was also some confusion about Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri during the final round of international matches in October.