Mohamed Salah has now been ruled out of Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal on Thursday, with Egypt making the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
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Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah scored his third goal in three games at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, netting in extra time of Egypt’s round-of-16 match against Benin.
Salah’s goal put his team 3-1 up with just seconds left to play, guaranteeing them a spot in the next round.
Egypt will now play a quarter-final against either the Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso on January 10th, meaning Salah has been formally ruled out of Liverpool’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on January 8th.
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Salah is also now likely to miss Liverpool’s FA Cup game against Barnsley on January 12th, and if Egypt reach the semi-finals then he’ll miss their game against Burnley on January 17th (either for the final or the third-place play-off).
The 33-year-old’s inclusion against Arsenal was already a long shot. Even if Egypt had been eliminated on Monday night, that would have left little time for Salah to return to his club and prepare for another game, having played 120 minutes three days earlier.
Salah also appeared to fall out with Liverpool boss Arne Slot before his departure for AFCON, so it’s not clear whether he’ll be taking up a starting role when he returns.
But the winger remains a big threat when he plays, now with four goal contributions in his last four matches for club and country. It’s undoubtedly a boost for Arsenal not to have to face the Egypt international.
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Liverpool will also be without Alexander Isak, Wataru Endo, and Giovanni Leoni for the Arsenal match, whilst Hugo Ekitike is a doubt due to a hamstring complaint.
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