SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Sunday, June 17, 2018: Egypt's Mohamed Salah walks off dejected as his side lose 3-1 during the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Group A match between Russia and Egypt at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Salah scores & injured, Henderson suspended – Weekend roundup of Liverpool’s internationals

Mohamed Salah scored, but also provided an injury scare, as several of Liverpool’s internationals played across Friday evening.

There’s still another whole week to wait for the Reds to be back in action, with Huddersfield Town the opposition next weekend.

Before that, though, plenty of Jurgen Klopp‘s stars have been in action for their national teams, with Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Nations League matches and friendlies all on the agenda.

Further matches are set to take part across the weekend; here’s a complete run-down of who has already played and who to watch out for on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The brilliance and the concern over Salah

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Sunday, June 17, 2018: Egypt's Mohamed Salah during the pre-match warm-up before the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Group A match between Russia and Egypt at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

It was all going rather well at the break for Egypt and Mo Salah, with the star forward and the national team having endured a strained relationship of late.

The Pharaohs went in four goals to the good at half-time and ended up winning 4-1 against Swaziland, with Salah netting the fourth himself.

It was his 40th international goal, putting him third on the all-time highest scorers for his nation, and he also set a record for most goals in AFCON qualifying with it being his 13th.

Moreover, the goal itself was an incredible piece of vision and technique, as Salah scored direct from a corner kick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efQYWgiuWSY

Worryingly, though, he was injured and needed treatment in the dying minutes of the match, and although he initially went back out onto the field, he left the game in stoppage time.

Hany Ramzy, assistant manager, told BeIN after the game he didn’t think it was a big issue.

“[The] initial diagnosis of the medical staff of [the] Egypt national team is that Salah suffered a muscular injury,” he said.

“He will be examined to determine the details, but in my opinion, it is not serious.”

Jurgen Klopp and Co. will be hoping that’s an accurate assessment; Egypt play Swaziland again on Tuesday.

 

Mixed involvement for several Reds

ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JULY 3, 2018: Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri with a ball in hands in the Knockout Stage Round of 16 football match between Sweden and Switzerland at Saint Petersburg Stadium (Krestovsky Stadium) at FIFA World Cup Russia 2018; Sweden won 1-0. Alexander Demianchuk/TASS

With two games to get through for most national teams, there is an amount of rotation to cope with—meaning even the Reds’ finest players aren’t necessarily in action twice.

Xherdan Shaqiri played the full 90 minutes of Switzerland’s 2-1 loss to Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.

On the bench for the opposition was goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who is yet to see any competitive action this term beyond a single EFL Cup match.

Switzerland play Iceland on Monday and Shaqiri will no doubt again be involved; Mignolet will watch from the bench as Belgium play Netherlands.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Wednesday, July 11, 2018: England's Jordan Henderson during the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Semi-Final match between Croatia and England at the Luzhniki Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Two more team-mates faced off in Rijeka, as Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson represented Croatia and England.

A 0-0 stalemate in a game watched by no fans was a damning indication of what football without supporters might be like; perhaps take note, clubs and governing bodies.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez were unused subs for England, but both could be involved against Spain on Monday. Henderson will not play that game, however, after being booked against Croatia—he’ll be suspended as a result.

Lovren’s Croatia face Jordan in a friendly on the same evening.

Naby Keita was involved for Guinea in their AFCON qualifier, winning a penalty after a great piece of skill.

His side ran out 2-0 winners and face Rwanda again, away this time, on Tuesday.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, September 26, 2018: Liverpool's Fabio Henrique Tavares 'Fabinho' during the Football League Cup 3rd Round match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Finally, Brazil beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Friday, but only one of the three Liverpool players were involved.

Fabinho played at right-back once more, seeing out the entire 90 minutes. Brazil play Argentina on Tuesday, when Alisson and Roberto Firmino can expect to be involved.

Elsewhere, Kamil Grabara played Poland’s U21 European Championships qualifier, a 1-1 draw in Denmark, while Sheyi Ojo scored his first goal for Reims in a friendly against Valenciennes.

 

The weekend ahead

Virgil van Dijk of Holland during the friendly match between Austria and Netherlands on June 4, 2016 at the Ernst Happel stadium in Wien, Austria. (VI Images/VI Images/PA Images)

Saturday and Sunday sees further games across all competitions and there are several Reds to watch out for.

Sadio Mane will lead Senegal against Sudan in their AFCON qualifier, Saturday evening at 8pm.

Also this evening, Gini Wijnaldum and Virgil van Dijk could be in Nations League action, as Netherlands face Germany at 7:45pm.

And on Sunday, Andy Robertson will hope his Scotland side can bounce back from disappointment, playing Portugal in a friendly at 5pm.

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