Salah injury leaves Liverpool uncertain if star has played final game

Mohamed Salah’s late-season injury has turned Liverpool’s title run-in into a question about far more than one player’s fitness. Arne Slot said Liverpool must “wait and see” whether Salah has played his final game for the club after the forward limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring problem in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield.

Salah was replaced by Jeremie Frimpong in the second half and applauded the home supporters as he left the pitch, a small gesture that carried unusual weight given the uncertainty around his future. Liverpool’s victory moved them closer to Champions League qualification for next season, but the immediate mood around the club shifted to whether the 32-year-old could return before the campaign ends. Slot said it was too early to know whether the injury would keep Salah out again, while stressing Liverpool understand how important he has been and how much they have missed him when he has been unavailable or below his best.

The stakes are heightened by the calendar. Liverpool have four league matches left, with Chelsea due at Anfield on May 9, Aston Villa away on May 17, and Brentford to close the season. Salah signed a two-year contract extension in April 2025 that was reported to run until June 2027, so any suggestion that he may have played his last Liverpool match would arrive more than a year before that deal was due to expire.

That is why the injury matters beyond the final scoreline. Salah has been central to Liverpool since arriving in 2017, shaping the team’s attack through his goals, movement and ability to decide tight matches. If this setback does end his season, Liverpool would face an immediate tactical problem: how to replace the right-sided threat that stretches defences, opens space for others and gives the side a reliable finishing outlet. It would also raise longer-term questions about succession planning, wage commitment and leadership in a dressing room that has relied on his consistency for nearly a decade.

For Liverpool, the league table still points upward. For Salah, the next scan and the next week could determine whether this injury is a brief interruption or the last chapter of a defining Anfield career.