The Egyptian was the Premier League’s top scorer in 2024/25, with his 29 goals for the Reds being pivotal in helping his side to their 20th league title. Liverpool will begin their title defence at home to Bournemouth on Friday with Salah being the first name on the team sheet but this will not be the case for the whole season.
The next instalment of AFCON is set to take place in Morocco from December 21st, 2025, to January 18th, 2026. Salah will again represent Egypt with their first game against first match against Zimbabwe on 22nd December at the start of the group stage.
Salah is likely to miss three league fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur (A), Wolves (H) and Leeds United (H) at the bare minimum and because Egypt have such a formidable side he is expected to be missing for long as they progress further into the tournament.
Salah could therefore miss as many as six Premier League games if Egypt perform well which would be a major blow for manager Arne Slot who despite attacking reinforcements, would struggle to replace one of the club top scorers of all time.
Including the full knockout stages, Salah would miss three more league matches against Fulham (A), Arsenal (A) and Burnley (H). The Arsenal game alongside the Tottenham game will be a particular worry for Liverpool as grabbing 3 points in both North London clashes will be crucial to the upcoming title race.