Mohamed Salah turns 31 in a couple of weeks’ time but such is his fitness, he will - touch wood - play on at the highest level for another half a decade, at least.
Salah really is the most remarkably robust of footballers. Since his move to Liverpool in 2017, injury or illness has prevented him from being available for selection for only three matches. He is not just ultra-talented, he is teak-tough.
But while we can expect to witness Salah’s brilliance for several years to come, he is at the stage of his career when a season without Champions League football is hard to take. And that much was crystal clear from his reaction to the formalities of non-qualification being completed on Thursday night.
