Mo Salah could soon be caught in a tug-of-war between Liverpool and Egypt over his availability in the coming weeks.
The 33-year-old is expected to miss Liverpool’s festive fixtures as he takes part in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which runs from 21 December to 18 January in Morocco. Egypt are tipped to go far in the tournament, meaning an extended absence for the winger.
Reports from Egypt last week suggested that national team coach Hossam Hassan wants his squad to begin preparations two weeks before AFCON kicks off, which would further reduce Salah’s time with Liverpool. According to Mail Sport’s Lewis Steele, the forward will hold talks with Hassan next week to try to find a fair agreement for both sides.
Hassan is within his rights to call up Salah a fortnight before the tournament, which could rule the Liverpool star out of the Champions League trip to Inter Milan on 9 December and a Premier League home match against Brighton four days later.
Salah is believed to prefer staying with Liverpool for those two fixtures before joining up with his country, especially now that the Reds’ Carabao Cup exit leaves them with a free midweek after the Brighton game. Ideally for Liverpool, Salah would remain available for Inter and Brighton and Egypt suffer an early exit at AFCON, possibly allowing him to return in time for the New Year’s Day clash against Leeds, though the timing would still be tight.
However, if he attends the full Egypt training camp and the Pharaohs reach the semi-finals and beyond, he could miss as many as eight Liverpool matches, including tough away games against Tottenham and Arsenal.
This will be the third time Salah departs mid-season for AFCON since joining Liverpool. Although there were no issues in 2021, fans in Egypt were angered when he returned to Merseyside early due to injury during the 2023 edition of the tournament, and he never fully regained form afterwards. Liverpool’s title bid faded, and Arne Slot will be desperate to avoid a repeat this season.
With Salah keen to delay joining the Egypt camp for as long as possible, Liverpool will hope Hassan is willing to compromise and allow their star man to stay for those key fixtures before heading to AFCON.
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