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Mohamed Salah is unlikely to travel to the Tokyo Olympics to represent Egypt next month, sources have told ESPN, and the Liverpool striker is expected to be fully involved in the club’s preparations for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Egyptian Football Association President Ahmed Megahed has claimed this week that Salah, 29, will contact Liverpool to ask permission to represent the country in Tokyo as a supergroup player. The age limit is 24, and three players over this age can be selected.
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With the Olympics scheduled to kick off next month, despite Japan’s strict COVID-19 regulations that have led to severely limited audiences at events, Salah may be away for the Liverpool Premier League opening game in Norwich City until the week before if she travels to the Games, which runs from July 22-7. August.
However, sources have told ESPN that while Liverpool does not have a strict policy on players not participating in the Olympics, Anfield has no expectations of Salah participating in the competition.
Liverpool have already rejected France’s request for Ibrahima Konate, who signed the summer to join their Olympic team, to be available to former RB Leipzig defender at the start of the pre-season practice on 12 July.
And Japanese striker Takumi Minamino will not participate in the hosts when he was not selected as their over-age player.
According to sources, Egypt has decided to include the country’s star player Salah in the Olympics, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp plans to get all players who are not Euro 2020 or Copa American representatives to participate in the club’s pre-season training program.
Salah’s ability to travel to Japan has also been affected by the Africa Cup of Nations, which is scheduled to take place in Cameroon in January and February 2022 in the wake of a pandemic year.
While FIFA rules do not oblige clubs to release players for the Olympics, they are forced to do so for competitive international matches, and Liverpool already plans to be without Salah for up to six weeks in the Nations Cup.
Senegal striker Sadio Mane and Guinea midfielder Naby Keita may also be away from Klopp’s team for the tournament.
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