Mo Salah ‘out of World Cup’, experts predict

Egypt’s superstar footballer Mo Salah faces being ruled out of the World Cup finals in Russia after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday night’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Kiev.

Salah wept as he was forced to leave the field after a tackle by Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. Salah’s Liverpool lost the final 3-1.

Egypt’s first World Cup finals match is against Uruguay on June 15, and they play Saudi Arabia in Volgograd on June 25.

Salah fell to the ground holding his shoulder after the tackle by Ramos in the 26th minute of Saturday night’s match. He played on for another four minutes before going to ground again, and was consoled by Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo as he left the field. 

Egyptian football journalist Marwan Ahmed told the BBC: “Honestly, I think it’s a nightmare. There are no words to describe it. There was a minute of silence after we’d seen Salah go down and then when he went down the second time, we knew it wasn’t good and that he would leave the pitch.

"No Egyptian wanted to see that happen, we’ve never had an Egyptian in the Champions League final. It’s really sad – I can’t find the exact words to describe it. Some people were in tears."