Liverpool trio Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita could be called up by their countries for the African Cup of Nations as early as December 27th and they may not be able to fly back to the UK before the second week of February next year, according to The Athletic.
It means the three players could miss games versus Leicester, Chelsea, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leicester (second league match) and Burnley as well as potentially two FA Cup ties.
Supporters on Twitter have been taken aback by the revelation, with some questioning why the Reds didn’t do more business in the summer transfer window:
This is so not on
— englishjen (@englishjen2) October 21, 2021
8 games?!!! Gotta be kidding me
— LFCBOBBY98 (@LFCbob98) October 21, 2021
The weather won’t be favourable
— kingjosh (@Iamjosh3Ch) October 21, 2021
That’s why Liverpool should of bought in the summer and have them ready for January as we all know it takes time for players to adjust
— Jim (@Jim67282736) October 21, 2021
Minamino and Origi will love this.
— Austin Ditlhobolo (@A_B_Ditlhobolo) October 21, 2021
Realistically, that’s any hope of reclaiming the title gone for LFC then. City & Chelsea won’t drop many points during this period.
— diamondd🏴 (@diamondd) October 21, 2021
Nothing is confirmed. They won’t be going till after Chelsea match guaranteed
— Supermilly33 (@Supermilly33) October 21, 2021
It is believed that Liverpool will try and persuade the likes of Egypt, Senegal and Guinea to take their players a week later (on January 3rd) so that the Reds can have Salah, Mane and Keita available for the Chelsea match on January 2nd.
However, with AFCON starting on January 9th, FIFA rules mean countries are well within their rights to take them on December 27th, with two weeks of preparation time permitted.