Liverpool have confirmed that Mohamed Salah will join up with the Egypt squad on Monday, December 15, ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The forward will miss the pre-tournament friendly against Nigeria on December 14 as the club adheres to AFCON rules requiring player release by that date.
Egypt's campaign begins on December 22 against Zimbabwe, followed by group matches against South Africa (December 26) and Angola (December 29). Should Egypt progress, the knockout stages start on January 3, with the final scheduled for January 18 in Rabat.
This means Salah, who has been in superb form for Liverpool this season, will be unavailable for a significant portion of the festive Premier League schedule. The club's busy run of matches over Christmas and New Year coincides with the group stage, and if Egypt reach the latter stages, the absence could stretch beyond a month.
Liverpool had initially negotiated for Salah to miss the early part of Egypt's training camp, which begins on December 3. The 32-year-old will instead report directly for international duty on the mandatory release date, allowing him to feature in Liverpool's matches up to December 14.
