What does Mo Salah's future hold for Liverpool and Egypt after their Afcon disappointment?
There were no tears from Mohamed Salah when the final whistle went in Tangier as Egypt fell at the semi-final hurdle. Just a little smile, but one no doubt hiding immense disappointment.
Yet again, his Egypt side had failed at AFCON and yet again, they had fallen against Senegal and Sadio Mane, Salah's ex-Liverpool team-mate.
Across the five games Salah started in Morocco, the 33-year-old scored four goals as he carried his nation to the semi-finals.
After their quarter-final win against the Ivory Coast, Salah described it as the "best camp" he'd ever had.
"We're all close, we love each other, we hang out together, the humour is unbelievable, and we work hard both on and off the pitch," said Salah.
Salah is expected to return to Merseyside, where uncertainty still remains over his future, following Saturday's third-place play-off against Nigeria in Casablanca.
Salah last started a game for Liverpool on 26 November in the Champions League against PSV, which Arne Slot's side lost 4-1.
Since then, Liverpool have gone 11 games unbeaten (W6, D5), though the performances have been questionable with Slot admitting last week that he did not "completely disagree" with suggestions that Liverpool's football has been "dull and boring" during that period.
It is also over a month since Salah gave an explosive mixed zone interview at Leeds, where he accused Liverpool of "throwing him under the bus" after he was benched for three games in a row, and claimed his relationship with Slot had broken down.
He was subsequently left out for Liverpool's trip to Inter Milan but wasn't fined and returned to the squad against Brighton a few days later, coming off the bench in the first half when Joe Gomez was injured.
Salah got an assist in the second half and was given a warm reception by the Anfield crowd, before staying to applaud all four sides of the ground after full-time as they serenaded their "Egyptian King" with his familiar song. That was his last appearance before joining up with his national team.
Slot insisted after that there was "no issue to resolve" with Curtis Jones also revealing that Salah had apologised to his team-mates for the fallout from his interview.
In his absence Liverpool haven't lost a game, but they have lost striker Alexander Isak to a lower leg injury until at least March, while defender Conor Bradley has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
So when will Salah next play for Liverpool?
By BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team
Salah will not be available for Liverpool's game against Burnley this Saturday as Fifa rules state that players must remain with their national side until the following morning after the team's final match.
Egypt's involvement in the third-place play-off on the same day means Salah will travel back to the UK on Sunday.
Liverpool will not confirm their plans for Salah's return until after Egypt's involvement in Afcon has ended, although Slot is expected to be asked about Salah at his news conference on Friday.
The likelihood is that Salah will return to the Liverpool squad for their trip to Marseille next week.
Liverpool take on Roberto de Zerbi's side in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Bournemouth in the Premier League next Saturday.
What does the future hold for Salah?
"No one in the country wants to win this title more than me. I've won everything in football except this one, and I've been carrying this pressure for a long time."
Those were Salah's words before the semi-final defeat.
When Egypt were knocked out by DR Congo in the round-of-16 in 2023, Salah was criticised after leaving the tournament during the group stage due to injury.
In 2021, Salah never got to take penalty in the final as he was the fifth penalty-taker, with Mane scoring the decisive penalty to give Senegal the title.
Salah should get a chance again to achieve his dream in the summer of 2027 when the next edition of AFCON takes place in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
He will turn 35 during that tournament while his current Liverpool contract is set to expire that summer but he remains in peak condition.
In the here and now, Liverpool will be glad to have Salah back, particularly given their injury crisis.
With Bradley out, Jeremie Frimpong is likely to deputise at right-back so Salah may return down the right flank unless Slot goes with Dominik Szoboszlai there in a 4-2-3-1 shape, like he did in that game against Brighton.
Salah could also play up top though Hugo Ekitike is currently the preferred option there.
After the Brighton game, Slot was clear that a line had been drawn from Leeds episode, in terms of Salah's availability for selection. Though he will have to earn his spot back in the starting eleven, like any other squad member.
"For me, he's now the same as any other player," Slot said then. Asked if Salah indicated that he wanted to stay, Slot said: " I think you already know the answer to that."
The understanding is that Salah will remain a Liverpool player until at least the summer, where he will lead Egypt at the World Cup.
What happens after that remains to be seen. Salah is a player who wants to start football matches and will not be content with sitting on the bench.
Seeing Mane - who plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia and was born in the same year as Salah - still thrive is also evidence that a move to the Middle East could be a viable option.
Category: General Sports
