Due to a hamstring injury, captain Mohamed Salah was forced to miss two Africa Cup of Nations matches on Friday, dealing a serious blow to the seven-time winners Egypt.
Senegal and Cape Verde, the current holders of the Africa Cup of Nations, advanced to the round of 16, but record seven-time winners Egypt suffered a serious setback on Friday when captain Mohamed Salah was ruled out of two matches due to a hamstring injury. Salah, a top player for Liverpool, would not be allowed to play again for his nation until they advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals, the Egyptian Football Association announced in a statement. In the Pharaohs’ 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday, the 31-year-old was taken off late in the first half.
Consequently, he will miss the last group game on Monday against Cape Verde as well as any subsequent last-16 match.
Egypt needs to defeat Cape Verde in order to secure a spot in Group B after drawing their first two matches.
They might also qualify as one of the top third-place teams, setting up a last-16 match at San-Pedro on January 28.
Salah won’t play in the tournament again unless Egypt advances to the quarterfinals on February 2 or 3.
Senegal, who defeated Salah’s Egypt on penalties in the previous AFCON final, defeated Cameroon 3-1 in Yamoussoukro to secure a spot in the next round with one group match remaining.
The defending champions took the lead early on thanks to Ismaila Sarr of Marseille, who subsequently set up Habib Diallo for a 2-0 score.
Even though Jean-Charles Castelletto made a comeback, Senegal was determined to win, and late in the game, talisman Sadio Mane made the result certain.
After two Group C games, Senegal has a maximum of six points, while Cameroon has just one and their chances of making it to the round of 16 are in jeopardy.
“I remember that in 2017 we lost to Cameroon in the quarter-finals, so during this match we did everything to win,” Sarr, the forward for Marseille, remarked.
