It would be an understatement to say that the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will cause some problems for Premier League sides, but Liverpool could well and truly be hampered by the continental tournament.
In a report by the Athletic, players will fly out to Cameroon for the competition on December 27th. And depending on how far certain nations go in the tournament, some names might not return until February.
With Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah all likely to be called up by their national teams, there could be a situation where Liverpool will be without three key first-team players.
Moreover, with Mane and Salah playing for a pair of the favourites for the AFCON title, Liverpool could be without two of their key players for as many as eight games.
Given how reliant Liverpool have been on Mane and Salah this season, with Keita also coming into his own this campaign, the Reds will be heavily weakened when AFCON kicks off in January 2022.
Indeed, whilst fans knew that AFCON will pose some problems, not many Liverpool supporters knew the tournament would cause so many problems. Nor did they think Mane, Keita and Salah could be out until February.
Liverpool fans rage over true extent of AFCON
Indeed, January to February will no doubt be a massive period of the season for Liverpool. Moreover, with three key players out for the entire month, supporters on social media are fuming with the problems AFCON has given the club.
Here’s what some Liverpool fans had to say on Twitter about the true extent of the 2022 AFCON tournament…
https://twitter.com/STAMBR1DGE/status/1451150131592638465
https://twitter.com/spill_the_tee/status/1451128693863194629
https://twitter.com/lholsy/status/1451156943914078215
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
