Mohamed Salah injury latest as Liverpool face anxious wait before Manchester United clash

Liverpool face an anxious wait to determine the severity of a hamstring injury suffered by Mohamed Salah against Crystal Palace.

The Egyptian forward started Saturday’s Premier League match at Anfield and earned a first-half penalty following a sliding challenge by Brennan Johnson that was eventually overturned after a VAR review.

However, Salah’s afternoon was ended shortly before the hour mark when he went down off the ball clutching the back of his left leg and was quickly replaced by Jeremie Frimpong.

Salah walked off slowly and soaked up the adulation of an adoring Anfield crowd, applauding all four stands amid fears that the Liverpool icon - who will leave the club on a free transfer in the summer - may now have played the final game of his illustrious nine-year career on Merseyside, with only four matches left to go this term.

“Another win and another injury.

It's the story of our season,” Reds boss Arne Slot said when asked for an update on Salah after the 3-1 win over Palace secured by goals from Alexander Isak, Andy Robertson and Florian Wirtz.

“It's too early to say but we all know Mo and how hard it is for him to leave the pitch.

For Mo to leave the pitch, it shows you something but we have to wait and see how bad it is.”
Resurgent Liverpool’s win over Palace was their third in a row in the Premier League and lifted them up to fourth in the table after Aston Villa’s lunchtime defeat at Fulham , behind Manchester United - who meet Brentford on Monday night - only by virtue of having scored one goal fewer so far this season, with their overall goal differences now identical.

Alisson Becker will hope to return against United with the Palace game having come too soon following his return to training in the aftermath of a hamstring injury that has ruled him out for seven matches, with deputy Giorgi Mamardashvili’s absence with a knee issue sustained in the Merseyside derby leading to third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman making his first league start for Liverpool and impressing on Saturday.

Striker Hugo Ekitike is sidelined for months and will miss the World Cup with France after rupturing an Achilles tendon against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are also long-term absentees, along with Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns.

Wataru Endo did not feature against Palace but is back on the grass following an ankle injury and is expected to play before the end of the season, while Joe Gomez came off the bench after missing the last-gasp win over Everton.