Will Liverpool achieve "Salah's dream" after adult injuries?
With injuries Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Virgil Van Dyck, Liverpool will miss its three chosen leaders - respectively - to carry the captaincy for the English team during the coming period.
The beginning was the loss of Van Dyck, Liverpool defender, who suffered a cut in the cruciate ligament of the knee during his participation in his team's (2-2) draw against Everton in the match that brought them together last October in the fifth round of the Premier League, following a violent interference from Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford .
James Milner (second captain) also suffered from a hamstring problem during his participation in his team's defeat against Leicester City (3-1) in the 24th round of Premier League.
The last injuries were the loss of the services of Jordan Henderson (the captain of the Reds), who suffered an injury during his team’s defeat to Everton in the 25th round, and it has not yet been established how long he would be absent, but European reports indicated the possibility of him undergoing surgery that could keep him out of action for at least 12 months.
Accordingly, the three Liverpool leaders will be absent from the next match against Sheffield - at least - which is scheduled for Sunday in the 26th round, which gives Jurgen Klopp the opportunity to choose a new captain for the team in case the fourth captain Jenny Wijnaldum does not participate or is replaced.
Klopp had previously chosen Trent Alexander-Arnold, 22, as captain of Liverpool during the team's match against the Danish team in the group stage of the Champions League competition, which annoyed the Egyptian international Mohamed Salah and expressed his frustration about the matter.
During an interview, Salah was asked about the matter, to respond:
"In fact, I was very disappointed. I would have liked to have worn the captaincy, but that is the coach's decision, and I accept it."
Later, Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp responded to Mo’s comments, saying:
"The rule here in Liverpool is that four-way Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Virgil Van Dyck and Jenny Vinaldom are the ones who have the right to get the captaincy, and if they are not all able to play, the player is usually the oldest in the club who is the leader and this is what I saw in Arnold."
He added:
"I got it wrong when I decided to wear Trent Alexander-Arnold the captaincy in the Mitteland match."
And continue:
"I've been a leader for a long time in my career, and I've always thought what a job it is because there aren't a lot of benefits and there's a lot of work."
And he continued:
"I didn't feel the captain's importance before the match, I didn't realize how important that was to the players, nor did I realize the size of Trent's story about getting the captaincy."
And he completed:
"Salah spoke about it, then I realized that it did not work well so I explained that, it is clear that he was disappointed, but I did not do it on purpose, and if I made a mistake then it means that it was not captain Divock Origi in this match."
On the other hand, Mohamed Abu Trika, the former star of Al-Ahly and the Egyptian national team, and the current analyst for BBC Sports, criticized the Liverpool administration's dealings with Salah, stressing that he should be treated better during the coming period, similar to what is happening in other clubs, citing the example of Manchester United's management.
Abu Trika said:
"Bruno joined the ranks of Manchester United a few months ago and is treated in a wonderful way, as he has received many awards in addition to the captaincy. Why does this not happen, what Salah is in Liverpool?"
For its part, "Liverpool Echo" newspaper said that Salah is a global star on the field and the true leader is a personality among his colleagues and fans alike, especially in difficult times.
The newspaper indicated that Salah began learning from his fellow leaders and may have a leadership role with the team during the coming period, as this appeared in the tweet he wrote after Liverpool fell in front of Leicester City in the English Premier League, where he made a promise to the fans to continue fighting until the end.
Salah said in his tweet:
"It was a difficult period for many reasons ... we are champions and we will fight like champions until the end ... this is my promise to all of you."
Indeed, Liverpool appeared in a different way against Leipzig, Germany, in the first leg of the 16th round of the Champions League, and won away to the ground with two goals without a response to put forward in the quarter-finals .. Will Klopp achieve Salah's dream, or is there an expected crisis?