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Out of almost nowhere, Liverpool is having to confront the prospect that Mohamed Salah may have played his last game for the club.
Relations with the club legend have declined dramatically in a short space of time — although a clear route to return remains open. Left out of the side for a third game running, Salah went nuclear with a rare interview after the draw with Leeds. He went as far as to say that he would say goodbye to the fans at the upcoming Brighton game, with his future beyond that in doubt.
Liverpool will not allow any formal farewells, and the preferred solution all round would still be for Salah to reintegrate. But Arne Slot has been left with no choice but to take disciplinary action and left the Egyptian out of his squad to face Inter in the Champions League in midweek.
A Salah-less Liverpool side managed to earn a crucial win, one that lifts at least a little of the mounting pressure. But the situation surrounding the star player shows no immediate signs of dissipating.
For his part, Salah has done little to extend an olive branch. What might have been written off as an ill-judged outburst on the spur of the moment was compounded by a needlessly cryptic social media post, left captionless but showing him working alone at the Liverpool training ground.
Slot has indicated a little more readiness to make amends, declining to give an opinion on who needs to make the first move in order to rebuild bridges. But whoever reaches out, it's clear that Salah will need to accept that it is not his role to influence team selection.
All of this is complicated by the upcoming African Cup of Nations. Thanks to Salah jetting off on Egypt duty, the Brighton game (regardless of his level of involvement in it) will be his last for a while, and the transfer window will open before there has been time to find a proper resolution.
Despite the thorny ground, Shay Given has backed Salah and Liverpool to reconcile. He also questioned Slot's approach to the issue so far:
"I don’t think Salah's career is over at Liverpool," Given told Sky Bet. "What surprised me was what he said about the manager not speaking to him.
"With his stature at the club and in the Premier League, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a meeting. He’s one of the main reasons they won the league and just won PFA Player of the Year last season.
"Mo was angry and frustrated after not starting the last three games. The media caught him at the right time because he was bubbling."
There have been one or two slight question marks over Slot's communication with players, especially in comparison to the masterful man-management of Jurgen Klopp. It seemed a little odd, for instance, when the manager admitted that he had not had any contact with the on-loan Harvey Elliott, save for when he was set to face Slot's old team in Europe.
But there can be little doubt that the ball is in Salah's court. After his comments, the onus is on him to make things right now, and Given conceded that Slot needs to hold his ground.
"I don’t know if it’s his last game, but Arne Slot will have to show a strong hand as manager," Given said. "There’s no player bigger than the club, but Mo has done a lot for Liverpool; it’s not an ideal situation because he’s one of their main players."
There can be no doubt whatsoever that this is an ugly saga, and not a chapter that anybody was hoping to see in the incredible story of Salah's career at Anfield. Hopefully, it is not the final page.
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