Mohamed Salah is now all but guaranteed to miss a key Liverpool clash after Egypt sealed their progression at AFCON

Mohamed Salah now looks set to miss one of Liverpool’s most important fixtures of the campaign after Egypt booked their place in the AFCON knockout stages on Boxing Day.

The Reds’ match against Wolves today is their second since the 33-year-old departed for the tournament in Morocco, with further league games against Leeds and Fulham coming up in the opening days of 2026.
Salah struck Egypt’s decisive goal for the second time in a week on Friday, calmly converting a penalty in the win over South Africa after being clipped in the face by Khuliso Mudau.

Salah spot-kick sends Egypt through
That victory sealed top spot in Group B for the Pharaohs with a game still to play, confirming a round-of-16 tie on 5 January against one of the best third-placed teams. Egypt will go into that contest as favourites, with a quarter-final scheduled five days later should they progress.

Even in the event of a shock exit at the last-16 stage, Salah would be facing a tight turnaround to make it back to England in time for Liverpool’s pivotal Premier League trip to Arsenal on 8 January. If Egypt advance, his absence at the Emirates is effectively guaranteed.
Liverpool set to miss Salah at Arsenal
While the forward’s form has dipped compared to last season and he had recently dropped out of Arne Slot’s starting XI before AFCON, losing him for the Arsenal showdown would still be a blow — especially with Alexander Isak ruled out for at least two months.

Egypt were always expected to finish top of their group and mount a deep run, though clinching qualification early could allow Salah to be rested for Monday evening’s group finale against Angola.

Any lingering hope of a swift return to Anfield has now largely disappeared, but the positive for Liverpool is that Salah is finding the net in Morocco and could come back to Merseyside high on confidence when his AFCON journey comes to an end.