World Cup 2018: Mohamed Salah on the bench for Egypt's opening group game against Uruguay
The Liverpool forward has been battling to be fit for the start of the tournament ever since suffering a shoulder injury in the Champions League final against Real Madrid
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will not start for Egypt in their World Cup opener against Uruguay, the Egyptian federation has announced.
The winger has been battling to be fit for the start of the tournament ever since suffering a shoulder injury in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.
But the line-up announced on the national team's official Twitter feed showed Marwan Mohsen up front backed by Abdallah Elsaid and wingers Amr Warda and Mahmoud Treziguet.
There was also no place in the line-up for Essam El Hadary, the goalkeeper bidding to become the oldest player ever to appear in a World Cup, with Mohamed Elshenawy preferred.
Despite missing out on a place in Eygpt's starting XI, the winger is still expected to feature in today's game.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Egypt coach Hector Cuper insisted he was "almost 100 per cent" certain that Salah would play a role in Friday's fixture.
“Salah is doing very well indeed, he’s recovered very quickly,” Cuper said. “We’ll see how it goes today. I can almost assure you 100% he will play, barring any unforeseen factors at the last moment."
"We're trying to make him feel confident. The doctors are giving him the options to play or not. I know Salah very well, he's not fearful. We always know we're running a risk when playing a match, that's something we can't hide [from]."
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