Mohamed Salah will miss Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Burnley this weekend, despite Egypt losing in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final.
Salah, yet to claim an AFCON title with his national team, saw hopes of reaching Sunday’s final ended by Senegal - and former Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane - on Wednesday.
However, Egypt’s defeat does not mean they exit the competition immediately.
The record seven-time AFCON winners are staying on in Morocco for a few more days as they will face Nigeria in the third-place play-off match at the weekend.
This will be a first opportunity for the Pharaohs to claim a top three AFCON finish since 1984 when they lost out to Algeria and ultimately finished fourth.
As a result of Egypt’s extra fixture, it means Salah will not return to Liverpool until Sunday at the earliest which rules him out of the Burnley fixture which is being played around the same time as the third-place play-off.
Salah should, though, be available for selection when the Reds take on Marseille next Wednesday in their penultimate league phase fixture in this season’s Champions League.
Prior to joining up with the national team, the 33-year-old’s future on Merseyside was placed in doubt following an outburst after a 3-3 draw with Leeds where he suggested he could leave in the January transfer window - just months after signing a new contract.
Salah ended up missing the 1-0 win over Inter Milan a few days later but was recalled against Brighton and signed off by claiming an assist in a 2-0 win at Anfield.
In Salah’s absence, Liverpool beat Tottenham and Wolves in the Premier League but have drawn the last three against Leeds, Fulham and Arsenal - failing to score in two of those.
