Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was involved as Egypt lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan on Friday, but he will be rested for the second game of the international break, in a boost for Arne Slot.
Salah will not feature when Egypt takes on Cape Verde, giving himself extra time to prepare for Liverpool taking on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.
This mirrors what happened during the October international break. Last month, the 33-year-old scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Djibouti to secure a place at next summer’s World Cup, before watching the dead-rubber against Guinea-Bissau from the sidelines.
Monday's game with Cape Verde will serve as a preparation game for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. Salah will miss several Liverpool matches as a result of that tournament.
This edition of the competition comes earlier in the year than normal. It kicks off on Sunday, December 21, and runs until Sunday, January 18, when the final takes place in Morocco.
Liverpool will hope that Salah can find some form before the AFCON tournament begins and that he will come back from his time away in better shape than last time.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has scored five goals this season (Image: Visionhaus, Visionhaus/Getty Images)
This season, he has struggled and, like the rest of the team, looked good against Aston Villa and Real Madrid recently, before another tricky game against Manchester City.
"The main thing is that he always has scored goals for Liverpool," Slot said in October when he was asked about Salah's form in a press conference.
"The last thing I worry about is Mo scoring goals again. He's done that his entire life, and I expect him to do that again in the upcoming weeks and months."
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"In general in football, players miss chances and he is a human being. We are not used to him missing chances," Slot added.
"It could be a factor (that Trent Alexander-Arnold isn't there anymore) as he played his entire Liverpool career [up to this season] with him, but he has been in promising positions to score goals.
"In general, quite a few changes in the squad from the summer mean everyone needs to find new connections again. It might have something to do with that."
After taking on Nottingham Forest, Liverpool has the likes of West Ham United, Leeds United and Wolves coming up. Those fixtures should offer the chance for Salah and the rest of Slot's side to collect some more points.