Salah dislocated his shoulder during Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid last Saturday, being forced off the pitch after just half an hour.In comparison, Vasyl Lomachenko, a fellow boxer, recently popped his shoulder out in the second round before going on to stop Jorge Linares in the tenth.
And Bellew has compared Egyptian Salah to the Ukrainian pugilist and believes the Liverpool star should have played on, no matter what“It’s unbelievable Vasyl Lomachenko tore his shoulder against Jorge Linares and continued fighting for eight rounds,” Bellew wrote in his Metro column.
“Mohamed Salah got a bruise on his shoulder and went off in the biggest game of his life.“That’s no disrespect to Salah, he’s been the best player in the world this year. He should win the Ballon D’Or.“But ultimately, when you’re going into the biggest game of your life the only way you should be coming off that pitch is on a stretcher.
“Strap it up, stick a needle in it, some painkillers – do whatever needs to be done because if Salah stays on that pitch Liverpool have a 25 per cent more chance of winning that game.”
Salah enjoyed a stunning debut season at Liverpool after moving to Anfield from Roma last summer. The 25-year-old bagged 44 goals in all competitions as the Reds ended the season fourth in the Premier League. He is hopeful of being fit for the World Cup which begins in Russia later this month.