Liverpool fans in shock as Mohamed Salah 'to miss nine games including Arsenal away'

 Mohamed Salah is set to miss up to nine crucial matches in Liverpool's upcoming season, including a key showdown with title rivals Arsenal.

Salah had an outstanding season last year, playing a pivotal role in Liverpool's successful title campaign. He once again proved his worth to the Merseyside club, scoring 29 goals and featuring in every single league match.

The Egyptian's contributions were vital in Liverpool's march to the title, their first Premier League victory since 2020, and after his future was secured with the signing of a two-year contract at the end of last season, all eyes will be on Salah to fire the Reds back to the title.

On Wednesday morning, the fixtures for the upcoming Premier League campaign were released, and an immediate problem was spotted for Liverpool, with Salah expected to miss up to six matches.

Salah's absence is due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. The forward, who captains Egypt, will take part in the tournament, which Morocco will host.

Egypt's first match is a group stage game against Zimbabwe on 22 December in Agadir. It's likely that Salah will join the Egyptian national team at least a week before this match, unless Liverpool manage to keep him for a longer period.

If no agreement is reached, Salah could potentially miss Liverpool's trip to Tottenham, which is set for the Gameweek starting December 20. He would then definitely be absent for the Wolves game on December 27, as Egypt are scheduled to play South Africa on Boxing Day.

Salah will also be missing from Liverpool's clash with Leeds on December 30, with Egypt playing against Angola on 29 December.

It's unknown just how far Egypt will progress beyond these three group games. However, they are considered one of the favourites to win the AFCON title for the eighth time.

Having last won the tournament in 2010, if they make it past the group stage, they'll face four knockout rounds. The first of these will occur between January 3-5, depending on their group position.

This means that Salah will not be available for Liverpool's match against Fulham, scheduled for January 3. Even if Egypt are knocked out early, it would leave Salah with little time to prepare for the Arsenal game on January 7.

If Egypt do progress, Salah will certainly miss the journey to Arsenal. In such a case, their quarter-final would be held on either 9 or 10 January.

After the Arsenal game, the Premier League will pause for a 10-day break, with Liverpool's subsequent match slated against Burnley around 17 January. However, if Egypt advances to the Africa Cup of Nations final, Salah will miss the Burnley match as well, given that the final is scheduled for 18 January in Rabat.

Aside from six Premier League fixtures he could be unavailable for, Salah may also miss the FA Cup third round, and three Champions League league stage fixtures as well.

The draws for those two competitions haven't taken place, but the FA Cup third round is scheduled for the weekend of Saturday 10 January 2026.

While he could potentially miss two Champions League matches depending on when international duty begins or ends, with Matchday 6 on 9/10 December 2025, Matchday 7 on 20/21 January 2026, and Matchday 8 on 28 January 2026.