Mo Salah set for early Liverpool exit | OneFootball

Egypt's AFCON plans revealed

In an article from WinWin Sports, it's explained that there is currently a lot of uncertainty around when the Egyptian national team will call-up its players ahead of the African Cup of Nations.

The tournament begins on December 21 and finishes on January 18, although a miniature training camp is being organised prior to the competition start so that Hossam Hassan can prepare the team.

A friendly match is scheduled against the Nigerian national team on December 14, although it's currently understood that Salah and Omar Marmoush at Manchester City, will not be added to the side in time for that contest. Both players have club matches to play during that very weekend.

This is where the dilemma rests. Officially, the Egyptian side has the right to call them up from December 7 because it's 14 days prior to the tournament, but it all depends on who takes priority.

Given it's a mid-season tournament for any African player who is employed at a European club, preparation isn't as straightforward as it might be for a UEFA-organised a tournament like the Euros.

Unlike the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the footballing calendar will not stop for AFCON to take place.

After the Reds' match against Brighton on December 13, we might not see Salah back in England until the latter half of January - during that time, he'll miss up to six matches, depending upon how far his side go in the competition. It's unavoidable, he's the captain of his country. He simply has to play.

Last time around in 2023, the 33-year-old came back injured, missing some of the tournament, but also subsequently missing some of the other games that Liverpool might have expected to see him in.

He might come back into form during the break, which could be a bonus for Arne Slot, or he could be in a difficult place fitness-wise thanks to the extra matches he'll have played, alongside the travelling.

What feels most important to take away from this is how long Liverpool will have him before he leaves the squad for a month. Concerns of an early exit have fortunately been dampened, but we're not out of the woods yet, because once the next 10 games have been played, he'll be on his way.

His four goals and three assists so far this season feel like an underwhelming effort, but Slot often relies on Salah to take up that right-wing role, and his qualities have been well-established. Losing someone of his calibre is significant, and the clock is ticking for Slot to prepare for his absence.n