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Liverpool star Mohamed Salah tested positive for COVID-19, the Egyptian Football Association confirmed after a second test.
The Reds forward is currently with the Pharaohs ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Togo in the coming days.
However, after the routine tests were done, Salah’s result came back positive, meaning that he will now have to go through a period of self-isolation.
Salah is said to be showing no symptoms and the federation is in communication with the LFC medical team.
A statement shared on his official Facebook page read: “A second swab was made by Mohamed Salah, the star of the Liverpool national team and English club, and the result showed a positive case of the big star infected with the Coronavirus, and All procedures are in place and following the global medical protocol necessary for the situation, with the knowledge of Dr. Mohamed Sultan, head of the Etihad medical committee and Dr. Mohamed Abu Alala, doctor of the national team.
“The first swab was positive, but the Egyptian Football Federation decided to do a second swab to confirm the injury, as the big star’s injury case received great attention from the Federation at all levels.
“The Egypt star is in high spirits and none of the usual symptoms of injury, while an isolation room and another room are equipped for medical follow-up, as team doctor Dr. Mohamed Abu Alala communicates with Dr. Kim Moxen Liverpool chief medical staff for monitoring and coordination.
Salah has been one of the Reds’ best players so far this season but will now be unavailable for next week’s visit from Leicester City as he goes through what is expected to be a 14-day lockdown period.
The government’s Covid rules state that anyone who has tested positive must self-isolate for 10 days from taking the test if they do not show symptoms.
That could be longer if Salah develops symptoms, and the government also confirms that people must isolate themselves for an additional 10 days if symptoms develop during their period of isolation.
People can stop self-isolating after 10 days if they only have a cough or no symptoms.
However, they should continue to isolate themselves after these 10 days if there are other symptoms such as a high fever.
It means that Salah is definitely ruled out for Liverpool’s next game, which is against Leicester City on November 22.
The Reds will then face Atalanta on November 25 before traveling to Brighton on November 28; If Salah does not develop symptoms, then he is free to participate in these matches.
But there will be questions about whether Salah would run against Atalanta even if he is legally capable.
He may not return to England until his period of self-isolation is over.
While elite athletes like Salah are not subject to the same quarantine rules as the rest of the country, that means he would not return to England until November 24, just one day before the Reds take on Atalanta in the Champions League.
The news is likely to be a major source of frustration for manager Jurgen Klopp, who recently voiced concerns about the club releasing its players to international setups with the virus still across much of the planet.
“For us, it feels safer when we are all together, although we also had some cases,” Klopp said earlier this month.
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“Not many, but some, and none for a while, which is good, but this is the moment we’re living in.
“Yeah, the problem with that situation is that we don’t have power. Not really.
“We try to find out what the protocols are like with all the different federations, but it is up to the federation to respond or not, so FIFA is not really involved in that.”
Liverpool have already had positive tests for both Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara this season, while there was also some confusion over Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri during the last round of international matches in October.
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