Liverpool head coach says he will miss the presence of Mohamed Salah, who will be heading to participate at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with the Egypt national team, Afrosport reports.
The 33-year-old made headlines after the 3-3 draw with Leeds United, accusing Liverpool of throwing him under the bus and declaring a broken relationship with Slot.
Salah was subsequently dropped from the squad for the Champions League to Inter Milan before returning against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, coming off the bench in the first half to replace Joe Gomez before assisting Hugo Ekitike’s second goal on the hour mark, which took him to 277 Premier League goal involvements, to become the highest player with such numbers for a single club in the English top flight.
Reflecting after the Brighton win, Slot said: “Mo is going to go to the AFCON now, I hope he is going to do very well and in the meantime we have to play here without him with not that many players available at the moment.
“The good thing is we play on Saturday and then a week in between and then again Saturday. That’s the situation.”
277 – Mo Salah has 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League (188 goals, 89 assists) – now the all-time record by a player for a single club in the competition, overtaking Wayne Rooney’s 276 for Manchester United (183 goals, 93 assists). Only. pic.twitter.com/Fw0yAvVU9N
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 13, 2025
Salah’s bombshell interview raised questions on his future with Liverpool after the AFCON 2025 tournament, and when asked whether the former Chelsea man has indicated he wants to stay, Slot added: “I think you already know the answer to that.
“What has been said between the two of us in that conversation stays between us. And I think what you see is what you get to know, and that was that he was in the squad and my first substitution.
“And all of the other things that have been said in that conversation, I never speak about when I speak to Virgil or Mo or any other player. I never tell you guys what we talk about.”
The victory saw Liverpool move above fierce rivals Manchester United into sixth on the table, level on points with Crystal Palace and two points shy of the top four.
Meanwhile, Salah will be looking to lead the Egypt attack when they tackle Zimbabwe in their opening AFCON Group B game on December 22.
