Liverpool: Mohamed Salah sparks injury fears after being subbed off at Brighton

Mohamed Salah headed straight down the tunnel after being substituted off during Liverpool’s win at Brighton, raising fears the Egyptian star has picked up a knock.

Just five minutes after scoring from the penalty spot to put Liverpool 2-0 ahead, Salah went down and required treatment before being replaced by Diogo Jota as a precaution.

He headed straight back to the away dressing room but not before taking the time to give his shirt to a Brighton fan sat near the tunnel who asked for it.

The Egyptian forward was replaced by Diogo Jota and headed straight down the tunnel

Liverpool will hope Salah hasn’t picked up an injury with some crucial games coming up

Salah’s composed penalty, after Yves Bissouma handled Naby Keita’s strike, put the Reds in complete control at the Amex Stadium after Luis Diaz scored in the first-half.

The win moves the Reds back within two points of leaders Manchester City, who aren’t in action until they visit Crystal Palace on Monday night. 

But any injury to Salah will come as a serious blow to Liverpool ahead of an important Premier League fixture at Arsenal on Wednesday night and next weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final against Nottingham Forest.

Egypt will also want him fit ahead of their two-legged World Cup play-off against Senegal at the end of the month. The first leg in Cairo is on March 25 with the return four days later with a place in the finals in Qatar at stake.

Salah’s penalty was his 28th goal of another prolific season and his 20th in the Premier League. It was Liverpool’s 2,000th goal in the competition since 1992.

Salah has now had a direct had in 158 Premier League goals for the club – 115 goals and 43 assists – drawing him level with Robbie Fowler and behind only the 212 direct goal involvements of Steven Gerrard.

Salah, 29, has been in excellent form of late, scoring against Inter Milan and Norwich City plus twice against Leeds United. He failed to find the net in three consecutive games but broke that duck from the spot at Brighton. 

Salah celebrates converting a penalty to double Liverpool’s lead at the Amex Stadium

Liverpool’s leading goalscorer fired home his 28th goal of the season from the penalty spot

Meanwhile, Peter Crouch believes that Liverpool should make Salah their highest paid player but stressed that the club shouldn’t alter their wage structure too significantly as it could cause major problems.

Salah’s contract expires in the summer of 2023 and there is much uncertainty regarding whether he will remain at Anfield.

The winger reportedly wants wages of £400,000-a-week, which would make him the highest paid player in Liverpool’s history.

Speaking on BT Sport, Crouch said: ‘You give him what he wants, Van Dijk’s almost as important, Alisson, where does it end? It then becomes a problem. 

However, Crouch insisted major changes to Liverpool’s wage structure could be detrimental

‘We all want to keep Mohamed Salah 100 per cent but he has to fall in line with what they’re prepared to pay. 

‘You can make him the highest paid but not beyond the structure that you’ve got. Liverpool as a football club will always be bigger than any individual. 

‘I think there have been times when Liverpool have sold players and you thought it was unthinkable that they would do that and they always recovered. (Luis) Suarez was one of the highest paid.

‘Salah can say that he wants to be the highest paid player. He’s been that good.’