Egypt face fresh questions as Salah is named in Trabzonspor squad for artificial turf match

Mohamed Salah’s inclusion in Trabzonspor’s squad for a match on artificial turf has reignited debate over the decision to leave the Egypt captain out of a national team fixture last month.

The Turkish club announced on Wednesday that Salah was included in its travelling squad for Thursday’s meeting with Finland’s Cobbs in the opening round of the UEFA Conference League league phase.

The announcement has raised questions because the match is scheduled to be played on artificial turf, the same surface cited by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) when it explained Salah’s absence from the national team’s trip to South Sudan in September.

However, Salah’s inclusion in Trabzonspor’s squad does not guarantee that he will feature in the match, either as a starter or a substitute.

Egypt’s decision to rest Salah under scrutiny

On 26 September, the EFA announced that Salah would not travel with Egypt for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against South Sudan.

The federation said the decision was taken to avoid the risk of injury because the match would be played on an artificial turf pitch.

According to the announcement, the decision was made in coordination with the technical staff led by head coach Hossam Hassan, with the player’s safety given as the reason for his exclusion.

Hassan later said that Salah had spoken to him about the pitch before Egypt’s match against Angola and that they had agreed the forward would rest for the South Sudan fixture.

Trabzonspor selection raises questions

Salah’s appearance on Trabzonspor’s squad list has prompted questions about the difference between the club’s decision and Egypt’s earlier approach.

If artificial turf was considered a sufficient injury risk to keep the captain out of an international fixture, his inclusion in a club squad for a match on the same surface has raised questions about whether the circumstances have changed.

Neither Salah’s inclusion in the squad nor the club’s announcement, however, establishes that he will play.

His eventual involvement will depend on the coach’s selection, leaving his participation uncertain ahead of Thursday’s encounter.

Salah’s involvement remains uncertain

The situation has brought renewed attention to the EFA’s explanation for resting one of Egypt’s most important players during the AFCON qualifying campaign.

For now, Trabzonspor’s announcement confirms only that Salah has been included in the squad for the European fixture. It does not confirm that he will take the field.

The key question remains why the artificial turf concerns cited by Egypt in September have not prevented his inclusion in the Turkish club’s travelling group for a match on a similar surface.