Mohamed Salah has returned to partial training with the Egypt squad as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain, boosting the chances he will be available for Friday’s round-of-32 tie against Australia in Dallas.
Egypt’s football federation posted photographs of the 34-year-old smiling during the session in Spokane, captioning the images with “The King is back.”
Salah was substituted during Egypt’s final group stage match, a 1-1 draw with Iran, leaving his fitness in doubt ahead of the knockout encounter. Manager Hossam Hassan’s decision to pull him had cast uncertainty over whether he would be ready for a game Egypt cannot afford to lose.
The return comes at a welcome moment for a side that reached the knockout stage for the first time after finishing second in their group, five points behind Belgium on goal difference. Salah has been central to their run, scoring once and creating two further goals across three group appearances.
