Mohamed Salah is not among the first group of Liverpool players to report back for pre-season training, with the club confirming only eight senior players for day one.
Pre-season has finally arrived and it falls on the same day that Arne Slot will front the press for the first time in his role as the new head coach.
It is officially the start of a new era at the club and there will be plenty of interest in what the Dutchman has to say and what the first-team players he has at his disposal get up to.
And the club have confirmed that only eight players will report to the AXA Training Centre on Friday, reporting in two groups of four.
The morning group includes Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Sepp van den Berg, while Owen Beck, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and Kostas Tsimikas will follow in the afternoon.
Notably, the list does not include Salah, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Nat Phillips or Fabio Carvalho – all of whom you expect will now be on their final days of holiday.
The Egyptian, for example, has been enjoying time in Greece.
It is slightly surprising not to see Elliott, Phillips or Carvalho, though, as none of them took part in international duty over the summer, unlike Salah and Endo.
They will be expected to report in the coming days, though, and follow the same programme as their team-mates, which will be full of testing early on.
There are still 11 senior players on international duty and a handful remain on holiday, making it a staggered start to pre-season for Slot and his team – not entirely ideal!
The start of the Premier League season is just 44 days away and there is a lot for Slot, the players and the club to do between now and then.
Players back on day 1: Kelleher, Quansah, Van den Berg, Bradley, Tsimikas, Beck, Bajcetic, Jones
Yet to return: Phillips, Endo, Morton, McConnell, Elliott, Clark, Carvalho, Salah
Internationals: Alisson, Jaros, Gomez, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Diaz, Nunez, Gakpo, Jota
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
