Mo Salah gets a fresh haircut ahead of AFCON games with Egypt

Mo Salah has shown off a smart new haircut and beard trim ahead of his African Cup of Nations campaign with Egypt.

The Liverpool star, 31, has joined up with the Egyptian national team ahead of the continental competition which begins in the Ivory Coast next weekend.

Egypt reached the final of the African Cup of Nations last time out, but fell victim to a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to Senegal after a goalless draw two years ago.

The Egyptian National Side posted to X (formerly Twitter), showing off pictures of Salah with his new look, and in training ahead of the tournament.

One Liverpool fan replied to the picture, saying: '5years younger with that new hairstyle. Good Luck king'.

The Liverpool star faced some stick online for his curly long locks during his last domestic games ahead of his exit to join up with his international colleagues.

The 31-year-old scored one goal and assisted another in their 4-2 win over Newcastle United on New Year's Day.

One Liverpool fan wrote: 'He definitely saw them hairline memes from the Newcastle game', while another added: 'His barber saw the memes and said I gatchu'.

Salah's Egypt are in Group B of the competition, and will face Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde in their first three matches of the tournament.

While Salah is on international duty, he could miss up to eight Liverpool games, starting with the FA Cup clash against Premier League Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

On Friday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp joked that he was not wishing Salah much success with Egypt, as a short stay at AFCON would mean that the club's star striker would be back in domestic action far sooner.

Klopp said: 'Nobody else can play like Mo, it is not possible -- we just have to use the boys with their skills.

'Do we want to play without Mo? No. In the past we didn't have to do it often but we always found a way.'