Liverpool will be frustrated after what's just happened to Mohamed Salah on Egypt duty - opinion
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The international break is something almost every fan is not keen on, especially when it leads to complications for some of their stars.
After almost a fortnight without domestic football, the Premier League is set to return very soon as players start to arrive back from representing their respective countries.
Sometimes these pauses in the season can come at good times for teams, but one so early on like this neither really benefits nor hinders anyone in particular.
However, events that go on during the break can have a negative impact when players arrive back, with everyone associated with the club hoping they all arrive back healthy.
And, although Mohamed Salah has not picked up any injury that anyone knows of, what happened to him while playing for Egypt is bound to frustrate Liverpool later down the line.
Photo by Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Some may see these international games as ‘just’ more friendlies, but they actually mean a lot more as results decide whether or not their country will be at the 2026 World Cup.
For teams like England, they are expected to breeze through rather comfortably, but others, such as Egypt, will have to work a lot harder to get there.
A win on Tuesday night against Burkina Faso would have seen them qualify for the tournament with two games to spare, but a 0-0 draw means their wait must go on.
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This will frustrate Liverpool further because it means when the October International break rolls around, Salah is not able to take it easy and will have to work just as hard to help his team the best he can.
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For someone who plays virtually every game, a break would have been much needed for everyone involved, but that now does not seem possible.
What will make matters even worse is that Salah did have the ball in the back of the net in the 66th minute but it was ruled out for offside, a decision that the replays proved to be incorrect.
If Egypt do qualify for the tournament, it will be their first since Russia in 2018, a competition neither they nor Salah did particularly well in.
The winger underwhelmed for his country as he was recovering from injury while also battling internal disagreements with the Egyptian FA, with Egypt finishing bottom of the group on zero points.
By the time the 2026 edition comes around, Salah will be turning 34, meaning that this is his last shot to prove himself even further on the biggest of stages.
To qualify, they will need two more points from matches against Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau next month, something that they, in theory, should be able to achieve.