Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed Mohamed Salah’s release date for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah is expected to link up with Egypt later this month ahead of AFCON, which runs from December 21st to January 18th in Morocco.
The tournament has been brought forward to take place over the hectic festive schedule, and Egypt had hoped for Salah to be released in time for their pre-AFCON friendly with Nigeria on December 14th.
'It's the 15th of December' Slot confirms
However, Slot has confirmed that Salah won’t be released for international duty until December 15th, meaning he will be available for Liverpool’s game against Brighton later this month.
“It’s the 15th of December, but as always in these situations there is a player involved, there is the nation involved - Egypt in this situation - and the club and there are always talks about what is best for all three of us,” Slot said in his pre-Sunderland press conference.
“I think the way we’ve worked at this club - and I have worked in the past - is there is communication between all three: the player, the club and the country.
“That's nothing new, it's always the same. Also, when they come back, when they go. I think FIFA have said the 15th is the last date I assume a player has to be released.”
Games Salah could miss due to AFCON revealed
Due to AFCON, Salah could miss up to six games, including league meetings with Tottenham, Wolves, Leeds, Fulham and Arsenal, along with Liverpool’s FA Cup third round clash next month.
Egypt are one of the pre-tournament favourites to go the distance and win a record setting eighth AFCON title.
Liverpool aren’t the only Premier League side that’ll be impacted by AFCON this month, with rivals Manchester United and Everton also set to be without key men for the tournament.
However, Premier League title chasing pair Arsenal and Chelsea won’t have any players jet off to Morocco, meaning Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca, respectively, can fully maximise their squads over the coming weeks.
Salah looking to return to Reds XI
Salah, meanwhile, will hope to return to the Liverpool XI for the midweek welcome of Sunderland having been an unused sub in Sunday’s 2-0 win at West Ham.
Second half goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo saw the Reds return to winning ways and ease the pressure on Slot after the Dutchman had overseen a run of nine defeats in 12 ahead of their trip to east London at the weekend.
And when asked is Salah was disappointed to have been dropped for the victory at the London Stadium, Slot said: “It's a fair assumption and it’s a normal reaction from a player that is good enough to play for us - I say that mildly because he’s been so outstanding for this club for so many years and will be for us in the future.
“Of course, a player isn’t happy if he is not playing. He wasn’t the only one who was not happy he was not starting, I can tell you. That’s normal, but the way he behaved was as you would expect from the professional he is.
“He was very supportive of his teammates, handled himself really well during the day and yesterday in the session as well.”
Upcoming opponents Sunderland ended a three-match winless streak at the weekend as they came from two goals down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.
