Mohamed Salah could miss Liverpool's December 13 home game against Brighton as Egypt pushes for his participation in a pre-tournament friendly against Nigeria in mid-December. The request means Salah may depart Anfield earlier than initially expected ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from December 21 to January 18.
Egypt wants the Liverpool forward for a friendly potentially scheduled for December 14, one week before AFCON officially begins. This would force Salah to miss the Brighton fixture and extend his absence from Liverpool during a crucial festive period. Depending on Egypt's progress in the tournament, Salah could miss as many as six to seven Liverpool matches.
Egypt's first AFCON match is scheduled for December 22 against Zimbabwe in Group B at Agadir's Adrar Stadium. Salah could also miss Liverpool's trip to Tottenham Hotspur on December 20, two days before Egypt's opening fixture.
Salah rested for Cape Verde friendly
The Egyptian Football Association confirmed Salah will not play in Monday's friendly against Cape Verde. The Egypt Football Association said in an official statement: «The Egyptian national football team, led by Hossam Hassan, held its training session in Al Ain in preparation for a friendly match against Cape Verde at 6pm on Monday - Cairo time - at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE. The absence of the duo Ahmed Sayed Zizo and Hamdi Fathi from the Cape Verde match due to injury was also confirmed, and Salah Mohsen underwent recovery training, in addition to giving Mohamed Salah a rest, and his non-participation in the Cape Verde friendly. Tarek Abou El-Enein and Mohamed Abou Hussein, members of the board of directors of the Football Association, attended the training session of the Egyptian national team.»
The 33-year-old played the full 90 minutes in Egypt's 2-0 semi-final defeat to Uzbekistan in the Al Ain International Cup on Friday.
CAF Player of the Year nomination
Salah is among three finalists for the Confederation of African Football Player of the Year award, to be announced at a ceremony in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday. He previously won the award in 2017 and 2018 and could approach the record of four wins held by Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Toure. The other nominees are Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen, who won the trophy in 2023.
Liverpool may grant Salah special dispensation to attend the awards ceremony.
Ongoing negotiations
Talks between Liverpool officials and the Egyptian Football Association continue as both parties work to reach an agreement ahead of next month. Egypt's technical director Ibrahim Hassan said to winwin.com: «We are still in contact with Liverpool and Manchester City (over Omar Marmoush) at the moment for this matter.»
The relationship between Liverpool and Egypt remains positive, though the club faces another extended AFCON campaign involving their top scorer. Salah has been Liverpool's leading goalscorer every season since his arrival in 2017. If Egypt exits at the group stage, Salah could potentially return for Liverpool's clash with Leeds United at Anfield on New Year's Day, though a return for the trip to Fulham three days later is considered more realistic.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
