Egypt captain Mohamed Salah will miss next week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mauritania, as confirmed by his club, Liverpool, on Saturday.
The 32-year-old has “been released early from international duty amid the ongoing October break,” Liverpool announced.
On Friday, Salah scored in Egypt’s 2-0 victory over Mauritania and was expected to feature in the second fixture against the same opponents on Tuesday. However, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan expressed concerns about playing on Mauritania’s artificial turf, citing injury risks.
In Friday’s match, Egypt, record seven-time African champions, struggled against a determined Mauritanian side until Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan broke the deadlock in the 69th minute. Salah then secured the win with a second goal 10 minutes later, maintaining Egypt’s perfect record in Group C after three rounds.
Egypt only need a single point in the upcoming match to qualify, as they currently lead Cape Verde, Botswana, and Mauritania by six points.
Liverpool also confirmed that Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk was released early from international duty after receiving two yellow cards in the Netherlands’ 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw with Hungary.
“The pair will take no further part for their respective nations this month after the decision was made to relieve them both early from their international commitments,” Liverpool added.
