Egypt boss Rui Vitoria said it was "too early to say" whether Mohamed Salah's Africa Cup of Nations was over after his star forward suffered a leg injury in Thursday's 2-2 draw with Ghana.
The Liverpool striker pulled up shortly before half time, sat on the field while play continued at the other end, then indicated he couldn’t continue when the team’s medical staff went to treat him. He appeared to hold the back of his left thigh.
“Of course, we are worried and we hope it is not too serious,” said Vitoria after seeing his side draw a second successive game that leaves their hopes of reaching the knockout stages in the balance.
Salah did not stop to speak to journalists in the mixed zone after the game, though he smiled and seemed able to walk without difficulty.
"We don't know yet what is the problem. I hope not a big problem ... It is too early to say something," added Vitoria.
"Salah is an amazing player, one of the best players in the world, so we want to have this kind of player always with us."
Salah's stoppage-time penalty spared Egypt from a shock loss to Mozambique in their opening game, and the Pharaohs were up against it once more against a much-improved Ghana side.
The Black Stars, who were stunned 2-1 by Cape Verde to begin the competition, took the lead after Salah's injury when Mohammed Kudus hammered in a long-range shot in first-half stoppage time.
Omar Marmoush equalised before Kudus struck again, but Mostafa Mohamed ensured Egypt came away with a point as the Nantes forward netted for the second game in a row.
"The players were upset after conceding at the end of the first half ... but it's football, we changed the mindset in the second half, we went for the game with positive energy," said Vitoria.
"Not because of Salah, but because the result was not good. The reaction and commitment of the team were good, but Salah is an amazing player and we cannot forget that."
Vitoria insisted that regardless of the nature of Salah's injury his team is still capable of winning a record-extending eighth Afcon title.
"Nobody wins the title without coming through difficult games ... today we showed, mainly in the second half, the courage and quality of this team."
Egypt have yet to win a game at the Africa Cup being played in Ivory Coast. Egypt are second on two points behind group leaders Cape Verde. Cape Verde and Mozambique play their second game of the tournament on Friday. Only the top two in each group are assured of advancing to the last 16.
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
Results
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,000m, Winner: Hazeem Al Raed, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Faith And Fortune, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Only Smoke, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
