Salah Withdraws from Egypt Friendly; Latest on Liverpool’s Fitness

Mohamed Salah will not participate in Egypt’s game against Cape Verde during this international break, providing Liverpool with a fitness boost. The Egyptian footballer played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan in their first friendly. Despite key players missing from the squad, Salah was expected to start in the match against Cape Verde. However, Egypt’s manager, Hossam Hassan, decided to rest Salah, as confirmed by the Egyptian FA. Salah, who is 33 years old, will remain with the national team in Dubai despite sitting out the upcoming game, similar to the October break. Last month, Salah secured Egypt’s spot in the World Cup with two goals against Djibouti. He will likely be a spectator in the upcoming clash at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations. Salah’s absence in the friendly versus Cape Verde will not affect his availability for Liverpool’s match against Nottingham Forest at Anfield next week. The break will provide Salah with much-needed rest, and he is expected to make his 15th start of the season in the Premier League. The Egyptian star has struggled to find form recently, scoring only two goals in his last ten games. Liverpool will also benefit from players like Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, and Federico Chiesa having additional time to focus on their fitness after being excluded from international duty. Alisson missed out on the Brazil squad but is set to return to full fitness during the break and could start against Forest. Meanwhile, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni, Stefan Bajcetic, and Jayden Danns remain sidelined. Despite an unchanged starting lineup in Liverpool’s recent game, they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City following a 1-0 win over Real Madrid.