The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off before Christmas and clubs from across the Premier League are bracing themselves for star players to leave for up to a month
Amad and Bryan Mbeumo celebrating at Manchester United
Amad and Bryan Mbeumo are both expected to head to the Africa Cup of Nations
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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has fired an early warning ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, but he isn't the only manager wary of losing players in December. Amorim's concern is maybe more pronounced than that of some rivals, though, with Ivorian international Amad and Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo having combined well down the right flank.
"We will have time to suffer," Amorim said when discussing the pair. "We are going to struggle a little bit, but we already knew it's going to be an opportunity.
"When I watch the training, there are players that should be playing, but it's hard with one game to take some players from the team, because they are doing well also during the training in games. So other players are going to have the opportunity to help us.
"They are understanding the way we want to play, so if we are improving on that, the change of characteristics is not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team. But let's use Amad and Bryan in these games and we will see in general."
The Africa Cup of Nations begins on December 21, with players linking up with their national sides a little before then. With the final not taking place until January 18, some teams could be without senior stars for a full month, and Amad's goal against Nottingham Forest only reinforced how big a miss he may be.
There are some high-profile absentees from the upcoming AFCON, with Ghana among those missing out. That means the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo will stay with their clubs while other African stars head out to Morocco for the tournament.
Some clubs will be affected more drastically than others, though. Here, Mirror Football looks at the disruption coming the way of all 20 Premier League teams.
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Mohamed Salah playing for Egypt(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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