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As well as lifting the Premier League title, he is set to win the Golden Boot, having already broken Thierry Henry’s record with his 45th goal involvement on the weekend.

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The 32-year-old chose to stay in part due to the progress the team is making under Arne Slot’s management.

To make matters worse, he then picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty, which cost him a further seven matches for Liverpool, while he also struggled to rediscover his best form once back available.

Injuries cannot be helped, but AFCON is certain to provide a serious disruption next season because it has moved from its regular slot of January-February to December and January.

Taking place in Morocco, it will run from December 21 until January 18, having been moved from this summer so it doesn’t clash with the inaugural edition of FIFA’s controversial expanded Club World Cup, which runs from June 15 and July 13 in the United States.

That isn’t an issue for many European leagues, which have a winter break, but could be problematic for Premier League clubs with African players.

The round-of-16 is scheduled to take place between January 3-6, the quarter-finals follow on January 9-10, the semi-finals on January 14, the third-place play-off on January 17 and the final is in Rabat on January 18.

The Premier League won’t release its 2025/26 fixtures until June 18, but the festive period is the busiest in the calendar, meaning Salah is certain to miss some important matches, depending on the schedule and Egypt’s success in Morocco.

But using Liverpool’s schedule from this season as a guide, AFCON would overlap with eight games, including six in the Premier League.

AFCON 2025 dates

Egypt's group games:

December 22 vs Zimbabwe

December 26 vs South Africa

December 29 vs Angola

Round of 16 - January 3-6

Quarter-finals - January 9-10

Semi-finals - January 14

Third-place play-off - January 17

Final - January 18

Liverpool's 2024/25 fixtures to illustrate potential clash

Southampton (Carabao Cup, December 18), Tottenham (Premier League, December 22), Leicester (Premier League, December 26), West Ham (Premier League, December 29), Manchester United (Premier League, January 5), Tottenham (Carabao Cup, January 8), Accrington Stanley (FA Cup, January 11), Nottingham Forest (Premier League, January 14), Brentford (Premier League, January 18), Lille (Champions League, January 21)

That tally would rise to 10 once the preceding fixture is included for travel time to the tournament as well as a game after the AFCON final for time to return and potentially rest.

Liverpool have plenty of experience of dealing with AFCON absences over recent years and will know that they have to plan for its impact.

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