Liverpool announce Mohamed Salah return date after Olympics decision

Liverpool have confirmed when star attacker Mohamed Salah will return to Kirkby for pre-season training under Arne Slot.

The 32-year-old was initially expected to have been called up to the Egypt national team for the Paris 2024 Olympics, six months on from his short-lived Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

Salah returned to Liverpool to undergo treatment and did not return for the remainder of the Pharaohs’ run in the tournament, but the Egyptian FA were apparently hoping to call him up as one of their three overage players.

The men’s football tournament at the Paris Olympics runs from July 24 to August 9, meaning that Liverpool may have missed Salah for the first couple of weeks of the season had he been called up and Egypt progressed far.

However, as the Olympic Games are not a FIFA-affiliated competition, clubs are not forced to release players, and reports last week claimed that Salah would not be heading to Paris after holding talks with the Reds.

© Reuters

Salah to return to Liverpool on Wednesday

The ex-Chelsea and Roma man is yet to link up with the rest of his teammates for pre-season training, but Liverpool have now confirmed that he will report for practice on Wednesday.

Salah prepares to link up with new boss Slot on the back of another productive campaign during Jurgen Klopp‘s 2023-24 farewell, as he scored 25 goals and set up 14 more across 44 matches in all tournaments.

However, the winger’s contract situation remains an unwelcome distraction, as he is now in the final 12 months of his deal with the Reds, who are apparently not prepared to sell him this summer under any circumstances.

Talks over a new deal are believed to be a priority for new sporting director Richard Hughes, but Liverpool are running a serious risk of losing one of their all-time greats for nothing in 2025.

As well as Salah, Liverpool also announced that Wataru Endo would be back in pre-season training on Wednesday, as the experienced midfielder was not named in the Japan squad for the Olympics either.

Which players are still absent from Liverpool training?

© Imago

While Salah and Endo are due back imminently, a handful of players competing at the Euros and Copa America – which have now hit the semi-final stage – will remain unavailable for a little while longer.

Dutch trio Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk, France’s Ibrahima Konate and England’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez are all still vying for Euro 2024 glory with their nations, while Copa contenders include Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez, Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister and Colombia’s Luis Diaz.

All of Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson and Diogo Jota have been knocked out of the continental tournaments alongside their nations, although they are all enjoying extended breaks before returning.

Liverpool will take on Real Betis, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla in pre-season before beginning the 2024-25 Premier League campaign away to Ipswich Town on August 17.

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