A bizarre club-versus-country row between Liverpool and Egypt over Mohamed Salah's fitness looks set to escalate further, with national team staff in Cairo suggesting they have been unable to communicate with the injured forward.
Liverpool wrote directly to Egypt at the end of last week asking the national team to exempt their star man and captain from an upcoming camp in Abu Dhabi, where the Pharaohs are set to face New Zealand in a friendly tournament.
Egypt rejected that request and called up the player, insisting it was their right to assess Salah's fitness themselves.