A former Africa Cup of Nations winner has condemned Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah for his "surprise" decision.
The Reds, earlier this week, confirmed in a statement that the winger would be returning to England to undergo treatment after sustaining an injury during the side's 2-2 draw against Ghana.
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Despite missing their talisman, Egypt advanced to the next round of this year's AFCON after a 2-2 draw against Cape Verde on Monday.
Former Egyptian captain and four-time AFCON winner Ahmed Hassan was delighted with the result, but emphasised his surprise towards Salah's decision to return to Liverpool instead of staying with his teammates while nursing his injury.
"Salah is the captain of the national team, and the leader is just like the coach, and I will speak now as a former captain of the golden generation, and I learned from the previous leaders how to be a leader," the former Pharaoh said on Egyptian television per Btolat.
"At the conference, Mohamed Salah was giving a message that he would leave for Liverpool for treatment, and here the question is, do we not have a medical device?! I see, from my experiences, that a strain injury in the back may take a week to treat.
"If Liverpool wanted to check on Mohamed Salah, why didn't they send the medical team to check on him? But I have a very big reproach for him.
"We were praising him, but you are the captain of the national team, and you must be present in difficult times, and you are the ones who put yourselves in this stance, even if it is with one foot."
"I am very surprised by Salah's position. In our generation there were players who (died) and did not leave the national team, but things would go on otherwise. I was happy with the conference, but after these developments I became sad for the Egyptian national team, because the name of the national team is bigger than anyone else.
"Hossam Hassan was playing with a broken rib, and Mido was cursing his foot when he was injured and insisted on playing. By God, if I had been there and had a fracture in my foot, I would have insisted on being with the national team."
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Egypt will be in Round of 16 action on Sunday, 28 January, with their opponents yet to be decided.
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