Arne Slot declined to offer a definitive diagnosis after Mohamed Salah pulled up with a muscular problem, saying only that the forward would require the “minimum time” to recover. Slot stressed the uncertainty around the issue while underlining Salah’s preparation and history of care.

Salah made it clear that he had damaged his left hamstring after sinking to the turf. The durable forward went more than two years between muscular injuries before pulling up with a problem back in March. Now he faces the prospect of successive layoffs over a matter of weeks at the end of his final season at the club.

“We don’t know. That is the best answer I can give,” Slot warned when confronted with a swarm of questions about Salah’s fitness immediately after the final whistle of Liverpool’s 3–1 victory over Crystal Palace on April 25. “If I say there might be a chance [he may not play again], that is probably all the headlines, that there might be a chance, so we simply don’t know.

“But what we do know is that the season in four weeks is over. Not a lot of games are being played so we have to wait and see how his injury is, if he can return to play.

“What I do know about Mo is he has taken so good care of his body all these years that he will have the minimum time required to recover from an injury and let’s hope for the best, that he is available in the last part.”

The Times cited reports from Egypt predicting Salah could miss about a month, a timeline that would put his availability for the season-ending fixture against Brentford on May 24 in doubt. Liverpool effectively have Champions League qualification assured and no other competition to play for across their remaining fixtures. Salah also has a World Cup with Egypt to consider in the summer.

Remaining fixtures:
Sunday, May 3 — Man Utd, Old Trafford
Saturday, May 9 — Chelsea, Anfield
Sunday, May 17* — Aston Villa, Villa Park
Sunday, May 24 — Brentford, Anfield

Salah will almost certainly miss the trip to Manchester United. At the time of the announcement of his Liverpool exit in March, only seven United players had scored more goals at Old Trafford than him across the entire 2020s.

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.

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.