Salah, who turned 26 on Friday, watched on from the bench as Egypt were beaten by Uruguay 1-0. The forward is still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury he picked up in the Champions League final at the end of May.

"Defending Egypt, I think they played very well, but I imagine, with Mohamed Salah, Egypt would have benefited from his presence on the pitch... Today could easily have been a draw. I don't like to speculate and talk about things that I can't change," Tabarez told journalists.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday and will continue until 15 July, with a total of 64 matches set to be played at 12 stadiums across 11 Russian cities.