Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah could miss crucial games next season due to the AFCON tournament.

Due to the expanded Club World Cup taking place in the United States in June and July, the Africa Cup of Nations has had to be pencilled in for December and January, which will leave many Premier League sides without top African stars halfway through the season.

One of those stars is Salah who will represent Egypt at the tournament that could severely affect Liverpool’s shot at the title. The competition, which is being held in Morocco, runs from December 21 to January 18, meaning if Egypt go all the way, Salah would miss six Premier League matches of the season.

Egypt will open their campaign against Zimbabwe on December 22th before taking on South Africa on Boxing Day. They will then face Angola in their final group game on December 29th. The Reds face Tottenham on the 20th then Wolves and Fulham in the weeks afterwards without Salah who was the club’s top scorer last season.

Should Egypt progress to the knockout stages, Salah is also at risk of missing the Reds’ trip to title-rivals Arsenal who finished as runners up last year. The loss of the 33-year-old will be significant and manager Arne Slot will have to rotate his side in the hopes of finding a player who can match his quality whilst he is gone.