Liverpool and Egypt may be heading for a potential clash over AFCON involvement, with Mo Salah’s preferred stance now becoming clearer.
Mo Salah could soon be at the centre of a potential dispute between Liverpool and the Egyptian national team.
The 33-year-old is already expected to miss Liverpool’s busy Christmas schedule due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from 21 December to 18 January in Morocco, where Egypt are among the favourites to go far in the tournament.
Reports from Egypt last week suggested that head coach Hossam Hassan wants his squad to assemble two weeks before the competition begins, which would further reduce Salah’s availability for Liverpool.
Salah wants to delay joining Egypt camp
According to Lewis Steele in his latest Liverpool Confidential column for Mail Sport, Salah is set to speak with Hassan next week in hopes of finding a solution that suits both club and country.
While Egypt are entitled to call him up two weeks before AFCON, doing so would force him to miss Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Inter Milan on 9 December and a home Premier League game against Brighton four days later.
It’s believed Salah would rather play in both fixtures before flying out to join the national team, especially with Liverpool having a rare free midweek afterwards due to their Carabao Cup exit.
How many Liverpool games could he miss?
In an ideal scenario for Liverpool, Salah stays for the Inter and Brighton matches and Egypt suffer an early AFCON exit, potentially allowing him to return in time for the New Year’s Day clash against Leeds – though that would still be very tight.
At the other extreme, if he joins Egypt’s full training camp and they progress deep into the tournament, Salah could miss up to eight Liverpool matches, including away games at Arsenal and Tottenham.
This will be the third time he has left mid-season for AFCON since joining Liverpool. There were no issues in 2021, but in the 2023 edition (played in January 2024), he angered Egyptian fans by flying back early after picking up an injury. He never fully regained form that season, and Liverpool’s title push eventually faded.
With Salah hoping to delay his departure for as long as possible, Liverpool will be hoping Hassan is willing to compromise and accommodate his star player’s request.
