Liverpool have been handed a huge boost ahead of pre-season with it being confirmed that Mo Salah will not be travelling with the Egypt national side to the Olympics this month, as reported by the Independent.
The club’s top-scorer last term was wanted by the national side but was eventually omitted from the squad by coach Hossam El Badry yesterday following the Reds’ decision to block the No.11’s involvement in the competition.
The decision took into account the Egypt international’s likely potential involvement in the African Cup of Nations in January, with the club potentially set to lose both the 29-year-old and Sadio Mane for up to a month.
While we can more than understand the desire to represent his nation and compete for every possible honour, to lose Salah both during pre-season and in the middle of the term would present us with a number of problems – exhaustion being one of the prime concerns.
Following a tough fixture schedule last year, with the former Roma hitman playing in all but one league game, it’s of critical importance that the Egyptian gets a solid pre-season in before the start of another campaign.