When is Mohamed Salah back from AFCON? Egypt schedule, Liverpool return date after 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

Given the recent strain in relationship between player and club, Mohamed Salah's time as a Liverpool player looks to be coming to an end.

In fact, it's even possible he has played his final game as a Red. Having departed for international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, Salah could now be nearing an acrimonious end to his illustrious time at Anfield.

Yet there's also the potential that Salah returns to the club following the conclusion of Egypt's journey through AFCON, ready to help press on towards the latter stages of the 2025/26 season.

AllSportsPeople brings you a full overview of when Salah could potentially make his way back to Merseyside, when his matches with Egypt will be, and what games Salah would miss thanks to international duty.

MORE: Egypt top Nigeria in pre-AFCON friendly with Salah on the bench

When is AFCON 2025?

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will begin on December 21, contested for a month all the way up until the final on January 18.

Originally scheduled for this past June and July, AFCON was pushed back to the winter due to the 2025 Club World Cup scheduled for action in the United States over the same time.

When is Mohamed Salah back from AFCON?

All players will return to their clubs from Africa Cup of Nations duty once their team is eliminated from the competition, unless injury or other exception sees them depart early.

Egypt are one of the contenders for the title, and therefore it's likely that Salah will return to Liverpool later in the competition.

The earliest Salah or any player could be back with their club would be the end of the group stage on December 31. However, thanks to Egypt's status as a true contender in the competition alongside their soft group-stage draw, this is highly unlikely.

MORE: Complete group tables and schedule for AFCON 2025

Should Egypt top their group, they would likely progress to at least the quarterfinals on January 9. It's even possible that the Pharaohs advance through to the semifinals or beyond, which would see Salah return in mid-January.

With Salah, there is also the distinct possibility that he is sold in the January transfer window, potentially meaning he would not return to the club at all should a deal progress prior to the end of the AFCON tournament.

Egypt AFCON schedule

Egypt were drawn into Group B at AFCON 2025, facing South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe. Finishing top two in the group sees them qualify directly for the knockout stage, while they can also potentially qualify with a third-place finish if they are one of the best four sides to come third across the groups.

Winning the group places them in the top half of the bracket against a third-place qualifier, while a second-place finish in Group B would see them enter in the bottom half against the runner-up in Group F (Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique).

Incredibly, the schedule has shaken out favorably for Egypt such that winning Group B would see them play every match in the same venue, Adrar Stadium in Agadir, until the semifinals.

There are two different potential places that Egypt could end up in if finishing third in their group, one on either side of the bracket. One sees them play the winner of Group D in the Round of 16, while the other sees them meet the winner of Group C.

Group stage

Knockout stage

1st place finish in Group B

2nd place finish in Group B

When Mohamed Salah could return to Liverpool from AFCON

Salah will miss a considerable chunk of time as Liverpool push through multiple competitions.

Thankfully for the Reds, the Champions League takes a break for the winter holidays much like other domestic competitions around Europe and the rest of the world. However, the Premier League keeps on trucking through the winter unabated, and therefore he will miss a number of big domestic matches.

Salah is guaranteed to miss at least three league matches. He would return for potential participation in the trip to Fulham on January 4 should Egypt be stunned by group-stage elimination, but in all likelihood he would miss that game and potentially the important clash with title contenders Arsenal on January 8.

A push to the later stages of AFCON could see Salah miss even more games, and depending on the rest he is given after the competition he could even be absent from the return to Champions League play on January 21 in France against Marseille.

Liverpool schedule during AFCON

Matches Salah is guaranteed to miss

Matches Salah could potentially miss