Mohamed Salah leaves Egypt's Iran draw with left knee injury

SEATTLE (AP): Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was withdrawn from Friday night's 1-1 World Cup stalemate against Iran after sustaining an injury to his left knee, head coach Hossam Hassan said.

The former Liverpool attacker left the pitch in the 57th minute, with Mostafa Zico coming on in his place. In remarks translated from Arabic, Hassan said Salah is being evaluated by the team's medical staff and was set for a further examination once Egypt returned to the team hotel.

"I talked to Salah and he said he's going to be OK and it's not a big injury," Hassan said. "We still have time to talk to the medical staff. I think he will be back, and when I spoke to Salah he assured me he's going to be OK."

Before the tournament, Hassan had voiced cautious belief in the squad built around Salah. Egypt delivered on his aim of reaching the knockout stage for the first time since the competition expanded its field.

Salah's absence from next Friday's last-16 meeting with Australia would nonetheless represent a major setback for the Pharaohs.

The 34-year-old, a four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, scored his 68th international goal in Egypt's first World Cup victory — a 3-1 win over New Zealand. He has also set up two other goals during the tournament.