Mohamed Salah left Anfield applauding all four sides after appearing to pick up a hamstring problem during Liverpool’s meeting with Crystal Palace. He pulled up shortly before the hour mark and was forced off, trudging from the pitch to a chorus of concern from the crowd.

Immediate fears surrounded the severity of the issue and whether the injury could end Salah’s season, and even his Liverpool career. With roughly one month remaining of the campaign, the forward faces a clear race against time if he is to appear again in a Liverpool shirt.

Liverpool have just four fixtures remaining this season. A trip to Manchester United next Sunday already feels too soon for Salah if he has injured his hamstring, while the extent of the blow will determine whether a return is possible before the end of the campaign.

Chelsea travel to Anfield on May 9 in a tense fixture in the race for Europe, and that will be the penultimate chance for Salah to play in front of a home crowd in a Liverpool shirt. Arne Slot’s side end the season at home to Brentford and Liverpool will undoubtedly use that fixture to pay tribute to Salah. Long-standing left back Andy Robertson can also expect a hero’s farewell, but fans will hope to see the Egypt international on the pitch one final time.

Complicating the club situation is this summer’s World Cup. Salah will be keen to hurry back to action and bid farewell to his club, but he will not want to risk exacerbating a problem that could affect his involvement this summer in what is likely to be his final World Cup appearance.

The coming days and medical assessments will be decisive. Liverpool’s remaining schedule and the timing of recovery will decide whether supporters will witness Salah one more time at Anfield before the season closes.

Bruno Fernandes has revealed that a private conversation with his wife played a decisive role in his choice to stay at Manchester United last summer. Faced with significant offers from Saudi clubs, the United captain reflected on priorities with his family and concluded that he still had more to offer the club.

“I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club,” Fernandes told The Wayne Rooney Show .

He described the financial temptation succinctly and praised his wife’s pragmatic view. “Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money … there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.

“We’re very aware that we don’t want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.

“The words of my wife were like, ‘have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?’

“And that small thing she said made me understand that she’s on the same page as me. Let’s keep trying and see where this takes me.”

Fernandes added: “I didn’t want to leave the club at the point where we were struggling.” Earlier this season, while United were toiling under Ruben Amorim, there was widespread speculation the club might cash in on its marquee player to fund a rebuild. Fernandes has long expressed a desire to remain, though he has accepted he would leave if the club asked him to.

A change of fortunes under Michael Carrick has seen United rise to third in the Premier League table and the sense that the club is no longer in freefall has strengthened. Fernandes made clear his ambitions remain high: “I want to win the Premier League,” he said. “I want to win the Champions League. I never hide from that.”

Still, the long-term outcome will depend on United’s transfer strategy and whether selling Fernandes becomes the most attractive means to finance the squad’s reconstruction.

Arne Slot has refused to dismiss the possibility of goalkeeper Alisson leaving Liverpool this summer as speculation links the Brazil international with Juventus.

“Well, that is your opinion and I will bring that opinion to the ownership and to Richard Hughes,” Slot responded. He expanded on how decisions are made at the club: “I think the club is run in a certain way and we make decisions that the club thinks are in the best interests of the club. And it could mean this is the reason why. It could mean another good argument why we acted how we acted.

“I think the history of all the transfers shows that nothing was done without a purpose or without thinking about it. Look, the people who make these decisions take everything into account. They try to make the best decisions with the interest of the club.

“[Experience] is definitely one argument to keep him but there are other arguments. That is a decision the club has to make that is needed. In the end, he still has one year [on his contract].”

Liverpool have been preparing for a potential departure for some time. The club completed the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia in the summer of 2024, with the 25-year-old brought in as the long-term option at Anfield. While there were no plans to immediately displace Alisson, the arrival made clear the club had one eye on the future.

At 33, Alisson remains among the world’s best when fit, but his availability has become a concern. Over the past three seasons he has missed 63 matches across all competitions, with hamstring injuries cited as the primary issue. That pattern of absences has left Liverpool weighing the risk of relying on him through a full campaign.

The broader question for the club is timing. Losing Alisson while Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson also depart would leave the squad light on senior figures. Virgil van Dijk is expected to remain and provide experience in defence, and Joe Gomez, who joined in 2015, is currently the club’s longest-serving player, but there are no guarantees he will stay this summer either.

Liverpool’s recruitment and contract choices will determine whether the club accepts short-term risk in favour of retaining experience or pursues a clearer transition.