Liverpool are set to lose Mohamed Salah for the African Cup Of Nations this month, as the Egyptian national team vie for glory in the competition which runs between December 21 to January 18
Mohamed Salah looks on
Egypt have confirmed Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is in their AFCON plans
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Mohamed Salah has been named in Egypt's Africa Cup Of Nations squad. It will come as a major blow to Arne Slot and Liverpool, who will lose the forward for a number of games this month.
While this year's tournament takes place between December 21 and January 18, which covers Liverpool's clashes against Wolves, Leeds United, Fulham, Arsenal and Burnley, should Egypt make it to the final, Salah could potentially be on the move from Merseyside much sooner.
That's because the Pharaohs' open training camp kicks off on Wednesday, December 3 before a closed camp kicks off from Sunday, December 7. The national also have a friendly against Nigeria in preparation for the tournament come Sunday, December 14 before travelling to Morocco for final preparations three days later.
While training kicks off this week, it is not mandatory for Liverpool to release Salah so early. It is also reported that the club are hopeful of retaining the 33-year-old for the Reds' clash with Brighton come Saturday, December 13.
However, the club are currently awaiting FIFA's verdict on when players need to be allowed to leave for the tournament. The international governing body for association football is expected to demand player release two weeks ahead of the tournament, which would be this Sunday.
That means that Salah would miss Liverpool's matches against Inter Milan and Brighton. It would also mean that his last game for the club would land as a trip to face Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, December 6.
Here are all of the games that Salah could miss as a result of AFCON:
Tottenham (A) - Premier League - December 20
Wolves (H) - Premier League - December 27
Leeds United (H) - Premier League - January 1
Fulham (A) - Premier League - January 4
Arsenal (A) - Premier League - January 8
Burnley (A) - Premier League - January 17
Salah will definitely miss Liverpool's clashes with Spurs, Wolves and Leeds over the festive period, but his availability for games beyond that depends on how long Egypt last in the tournament. The Reds may not miss Salah as much as they will have at this time last year.
The forward was at the top of his game in the Premier League last term, but a disappointing 2025/26 thus far has seen Salah score just five goals and set a further three up across all competitions. It comes as Liverpool have struggled for form this season in the English top flight, however.
At the time of writing, the defending Premier League champions sit eighth in the Premier League standings with just two wins from their last five matches. However, Arne Slot will hope that Sunday's 2-0 win over West Ham will be the turning point for his side. Up next for Liverpool is a clash with Sunderland at Anfield come Wednesday, December 3.