Egypt is currently on the UK Government's red travel list and are set to face Angola in Cairo on September 2 before playing Gabon away three days later; watch Liverpool vs Chelsea on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm (kick-off 5:30pm)
Tuesday 24 August 2021 07:59, UK
Liverpool have told the Egyptian FA Mohamed Salah will not join up with the rest of the squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifier against Angola due to quarantine restrictions.
Egypt, whose team are set to face Angola in Cairo on September 2 before playing Gabon away three days later, is a country currently on the UK Government's red travel list.
However, Sky Sports News understand Liverpool have told the Egyptian FA the forward would be free to travel to play in the second qualifier, away in Gabon.
A statement on the Egyptian FA's official website said: "The Egyptian Football Association had received a letter from Liverpool FC apologising for the inability of its player, Mohamed Salah, to join the national team in its next camp, which includes Angola in Cairo and Gabon in Franceville during the first and second rounds of the African continent's qualifiers for the World Cup.
"The English club's letter referred to the precautionary measures applied in England to confront the outbreak of the coronavirus in the world, which puts returnees from some countries in compulsory health isolation for a period of 10 days upon their return to England.
"In the letter, the English club also expressed its hope that the Egyptian federation would understand that it was forced to do so, in the face of the player being subjected to a quarantine for this period and being affected by this physically.
"It is reported that Liverpool FC took the same position with a number of its foreign players."
Liverpool also have a trio who play for Brazil, another country on the red list, in Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino.
A number of other top European clubs are expected to prevent players from joining up with national teams due to coronavirus safety concerns.
European Club Association (ECA) members are set to prevent their players from going to 'red-list' countries during September's international break unless quarantine exemptions can be made, with the Premier League currently in talks with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Argentina, Brazil and Egypt are among the nations currently on the UK Government's "red" list regarding travel to England, meaning a 10-day period of hotel isolation would be required before players can return to their clubs.
Unless quarantine issues can be resolved, a host of other Premier League players may be unavailable for international matches next month, so too PSG stars Lionel Messi and Neymar.
