Mohamed Salah will not be in Juba on Tuesday. Egypt have left him out of the squad that travelled to the South Sudanese capital for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, and the reason given is the pitch: the match is being played on artificial turf, and Hossam Hassan's staff decided not to risk him on it.
The decision was not made this weekend either. According to the Egyptian Football Association, it was agreed with the player before Friday's goalless draw with Angola in Cairo, a match Salah started before being substituted after an hour.
What the federation said
"The Egypt national team's technical staff, led by Hossam Hassan, has decided to rest Mohamed Salah for the match against South Sudan scheduled for 29 September because of the playing surface," the EFA statement read. It went on: "It was agreed between the national team's technical staff and Mohamed Salah before the Angola match that he would not play against South Sudan, and the technical staff preferred this approach in order to protect the player."
It is a familiar piece of caution rather than a new one. Artificial surfaces carry a widely held perception of greater injury risk, and plenty of clubs and national teams manage their most valuable players around them. The research does not actually back the perception up — studies have found no evidence of an increased risk of injury on modern artificial pitches — but perception is what tends to drive team selection, particularly with a 34-year-old forward who is his country's most important attacking player.
A new club, the same responsibilities
Salah left Liverpool at the end of last season after nine years, 442 appearances, 257 goals and nine major trophies. He is now at Trabzonspor, and the move has not slowed him down: six games into the Turkish Super Lig season he has seven goals and two assists.
Friday's draw with Angola was Egypt's first match since their run to the last 16 of this summer's World Cup. A goalless result at home is not the restart anyone in Cairo wanted, and going to Juba without Salah does not make Tuesday any simpler. South Sudan at home, on their own surface, is the kind of fixture that has embarrassed better sides.
The wider point about pitches
African qualifying regularly takes teams to grounds where a natural surface is not practical, and the artificial-turf question comes up every window. Egypt have chosen to protect one player rather than argue the principle, which is the pragmatic route. Whether the rest of the squad should be treated the same way is a question the EFA statement does not address.
Transfer and squad context: Mohamed Salah, 34, forward, left Liverpool at the end of last season after nine years, 442 appearances, 257 goals and nine major trophies, and now plays for Trabzonspor, where he has seven goals and two assists in six Turkish Super Lig games this season. Egypt drew 0-0 with Angola in Cairo on Friday 25 September, with Salah substituted after an hour. The Africa Cup of Nations qualifier away to South Sudan in Juba is on 29 September.
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