Liverpool Handed Huge Relief as Egypt Rest Mohamed Salah for Final 2025 International Due to Fitness Concerns
Liverpool’s hopes have received a welcome lift regarding Mohamed Salah’s fitness. The Egyptian Football Association has revealed that their star player will be given a break from international duty and will not participate in Monday’s encounter with Cape Verde.
Salah endured a full 90 minutes in Egypt’s unexpected 2-0 defeat to Uzbekistan on Friday. This loss resulted in the Pharaohs’ elimination from the Al Ain International Cup at the semi-final hurdle, a premature exit that could paradoxically benefit the Reds.
Oston Urunov’s first-half double secured an unanticipated victory for Uzbekistan against Egypt the previous week.
Expectations were high that the Egyptians would advance to the final of the Al Ain International Cup, but their aspirations were dashed as their tournament journey came to an abrupt end.
Consequently, Egypt will now compete in the third-place play-off against Cape Verde, who themselves suffered a defeat against Iran in their semi-final match.
This game is intended to help them rediscover their winning form before the commencement of the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
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While some Liverpool supporters had expressed concerns about potential exhaustion for Salah, who played the entire match in the aforementioned loss, the 33-year-old will now be returning to Merseyside earlier than anticipated.
This early return is seen as advantageous to Liverpool, as they aim to revitalize their season, especially given that he has been afforded recuperation time by the Egyptian national team.
The Egyptian Football Association has verified that Salah will not be participating
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced that the national squad, currently under the guidance of head coach Hossam Hassan, completed a workout in Al Ain as they gear up for their upcoming exhibition game against Cape Verde.
This preparatory session took place at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, located in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, and is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 PM Cairo time this coming Monday.
In related news, the EFA officially verified that Ahmed Sayed “Zizo” and Hamdi Fathi will unfortunately be sidelined for the Cape Verde clash due to respective injuries.
Meanwhile, Salah Mohsen is currently engaged in recuperative training, focusing on his recovery.
Furthermore, star player Mohamed Salah has been granted a period of respite and will not be participating in the friendly encounter against Cape Verde. This decision aims to ensure his optimal fitness for future competitions.
To demonstrate their support and oversee the team’s preparations, Tarek Abou El-Enein and Mohamed Abou Hussein, both esteemed members of the Football Association’s board of directors, were present and observed the Egyptian national team’s training drills.
Because Salah will not be required elsewhere, he gains extra preparation time before Liverpool’s upcoming home game against Nottingham Forest next weekend.
Following a humbling 3-0 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester City last Sunday, the Reds are eager to rediscover their winning form when they face the Tricky Trees.
Scores from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and Jeremy Doku secured an effortless victory for City over Liverpool. The Reds were unlucky to have a Virgil van Dijk header disallowed due to offside when the score was still just 1-0.
Salah had a difficult time at the Etihad Stadium, and his performance has fallen short of the lofty standards set last season.
The seasoned attacker badge 29 goals and provided a further 18 assists for Liverpool, playing a pivotal role as Arne Slot orchestrated a Premier League title victory in his inaugural season in charge at Anfield.
This campaign, however, the Egyptian international has only managed to find the net four times and set up two goals in the Premier League.
Furthermore, despite a significant outlay of funds during the summer transfer window to acquire Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, and Florian Wirtz, Liverpool are now eight points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool also bolstered their squad with the acquisitions of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong from Bournemouth and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.
Frimpong arrived as a direct replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold. The England international’s departure for Real Madrid was met with widespread condemnation from supporters, who criticized his handling of the move.
Although Liverpool has received a timely lift from Mohamed Salah’s sooner-than-expected comeback to Anfield, their joy will be short-lived, as they’ll be unable to prevent him from joining the Egyptian national team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations next month.
The competition, set to begin on December 21st in Morocco and conclude on January 18th, poses a significant challenge for the Reds.
Egypt, considered strong contenders for the title, find themselves in Group B alongside South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe.
If the Pharaohs progress all the way to the final, Salah’s absence could extend to as many as eight games for Liverpool.
This includes potentially tricky away fixtures against Tottenham and Arsenal in North London, representing a considerable obstacle for Liverpool’s ambitions during that period.
