CAIRO: Hospitalized children in Egypt’s Mansoura govenrorate were delighted to hear the voice of Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah in a surprise phone call this week, according to local reports. Al-Masry El-Youm newspaper said the parents of children patients receiving treatment at the Mansoura University’s Children’s Hospital had been seeking to contact the popular Egyptian footballer via the telephone. A specialist at the hospital said the ill children were refusing to take their medication if they did not talk to Salah. Nirvana Salah, a specialist at the hospital, said she finally succeeded in reaching one of the footballer’s relatives, who put her in touch with the player’s mother. “I was surprised by the phone call from the player’s mother, who was on vacation with him, and she told me that Mohamed wants to talk to the children,” Salah said. Within just hours, despite his engagement in a football camp with Liverpool, Salah spoke to the children through a video call. The hospital’s director, Ahmed Refaie, said the hour-long call pleased the children very much, adding that Salah insisted that he speak to them via video so they could see him. He added that the Egyptian star told the children that he was happy to contact them, and wished them a speedy recovery. He also urged them to take their medicine until they are cured and promised to visit them soon.