Mohamed Salah: Will he start against Russia? Is he fit? How did he get injured?

Egypt need to beat the hosts after their late heartbreak against Uruguay in their opening game.

While three points for Russia would see them become the first team to qualify for the last 16 after they beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening game.

Salah stayed on the bench against Uruguay but has been speaking about his condition since and wants to play.

Will Mohamed Salah start against Russia?

Well he certainly wants to.

And Hector Cuper looks set to gamble on his fitness.

“Salah is fit,” Cuper told reporters on Monday.

“We always carry out a last physical test before we announce our line-up and today we will have an important test for him to see how he does.

“I think he will be able to play. He is an essential piece in our team.”

“He’s a great player, a crucial player, that much is perfectly clear.

“Salah is one of the best players in the world. For me there’s no shadow of a doubt there. It’s an honour and a privilege to coach him.

“On top of being talented, he is humble. He is a team player and that at least for me is extremely important now. He’s an important player for us. Nobody can deny that. I say it with all due respect to the other players in the Egyptian squad…. I think he’ll be able to play.”

What happened to Mohamed Salah?

Salah was injured during the Champions League final after a collision with Sergio Ramos.

The Real Madrid defender appeared to trip Salah and then hauled him to the floor.

He tried playing but eventually gave up and Liverpool went on to lose 3-1.

Salah was deemed fit enough to be in the squad but wasn’t picked for the Uruguay game and didn’t even come off the bench.

Cuper said: “Salah is fit. For the previous match against Uruguay, we thought he was fit also, but we always carry out a last physical test before we draw up the line-up. Today, we’ll have an important test for him to see how he does.

“I hope that he’ll be fully fit to play. I’m sure that he will be able to play. He’s an essential piece in our team.”

The official FIFA Egypt Twitter account confirmed Salah’s return to full fitness when they tweeted on Saturday: “Salah participated in training with his team-mates for the entire session and he is ready to play against Russia according to technical staff.

“Salah did not ask to play against Uruguay. Russia’s game is fateful and difficult because of our defeat against Uruguay. Winning is our only choice.”