Salah joins Egypt training

GROZNY, Russia: Mohamed Salah gave Egypt’s World Cup hopes a huge boost Wednesday when he joined a squad training session at their Grozny base.

The Pharaohs’ superstar was sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid on May 26, casting doubt on his World Cup participation.

He took part in his first training session since the injury, going through a range of warm-up exercises with his teammates. Team doctor Mohamed Abou al-Ela said Salah “participated in part of the training with the team and completed the other part alone”. Team director Ihab Lahita was cagey about his progress, saying there was no guarantee Salah will play in Egypt’s Group A opener against Uruguay on Friday.

“There’s a good degree of progress but no definitive decision on whether he takes part, as we are following his case day by day,” he told reporters.

Salah’s World Cup dream was left on the brink when he exited the Champions League final in tears after Sergio Ramos wrestled him to the ground. But such has been his form for Liverpool, with 44 goals in all competitions this season, that he was included in the Egypt squad simply on the off-chance he could play.

On May 30, Egypt officials said Salah would be out for “not more” than three weeks, which would rule him out of the Uruguay match but put him in the frame for Russia on June 19 and Saudi Arabia on June 25.

Egypt’s doctor said over the weekend that Salah would not play “unless he has totally recovered”. The player sat out Egypt’s first training session after arriving in Russia but was optimistic about his prospects.

“I’m excited. God willing I’m well-prepared and things are going well and my morale is high,” he told AFP on Sunday.Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera has expressed hope that Salah will play against the South Americans, saying he wants to play against the best at football’s showpiece tournament.

“I like the best players to play, I train with the best and I want the best players to play,” he said. Salah is regarded as a contender for the Ballon d’Or, alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar of Brazil.