Mohamed Salah, who has already healed from his AFCON injury, was seen grinning broadly when he returned to training at Liverpool on Tuesday.

Consequently, what happened?

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Salah hasn’t featured for Liverpool since New Year’s Day since he had to return to Anfield early for treatment after sustaining a significant hamstring injury during Egypt’s AFCON group stages. The 31-year-old was initially predicted to miss a considerable amount of time, but he has healed faster than anticipated. On Tuesday morning, he appeared to be in excellent spirits as he took to the training pitch at Melwood.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Following a medical staff evaluation, Salah was declared out of action for a month after hobbling off during Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana on January 18. Without Salah, Egypt was eliminated from the AFCON in the round of 16, which put an end to any chance of a possible farewell tour for the striker. Instead, Salah was able to devote all of his energies to finishing a recovery plan at Liverpool’s training facility.

DID YOU KNOW?

Salah resumed light drills at the beginning of the month, but he wasn’t well enough to play in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory against Burnley the previous weekend. With Salah officially back in the first team, Jurgen Klopp’s club is getting ready for their crucial February 17 trip to Brentford. Salah may be able to play some minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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WHAT NEXT?

In order to keep their two-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League rankings, Liverpool will need to win all three points at Brentford. Despite missing the last eight games, Salah is still the club’s top scorer for 2023–24 with 18 goals in all competitions, so his return might provide the Reds a crucial advantage going into the final stretch of the season.