The African Cup of Nations could be cancelled due to the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant and complaints from several English clubs, according to reports.
The Cameroon tournament is due to start on January 9 and run until February 6, with several Premier League players - including Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane - set to leave their clubs mid-season to take part in the competition.
But according to French news outlet RMC Sport, the Central African Federation (CAF) could announce a cancellation as the Omicron variant continues to ravage the continent.
The tournament's organising committee met with the CAF at the end of October to unveil their findings in a preparation report for the tournament. The committee announced that 'urgent attention' was needed for the competition to go ahead safely.
One of the areas that required the urgent attention was 'sanitary matters' relating to the coronavirus pandemic and the welcoming of fans into the Cameroon stadia.
However, the same committee signed off the Organising Agreement between AFCON and Cameroon, which states the tournament was set to go ahead as planned.
But fresh doubts about the staging of the tournament will be welcome news to Liverpool, who will lose key attacking duo Salah and Mane for a key part of their Premier League title challenge should the competition take place.
Reports earlier this year stated that Premier League players could leave their clubs after the Boxing Day fixtures in order to get past the quarantine rules in Africa to take part in the tournament on time.
But FIFA regulations state that players must be released by their clubs by January 3, which could be good news for Liverpool - who face title rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the day before that cut-off date.
Players competing in the latter stages of the tournament, including the final on February 6, may not be ready to play again for their Premier League clubs until the second week of the same month.
By that point - should the players leave after the Boxing Day fixtures - they would have already missed eight matches, including six Premier League games and two FA Cup rounds, though travel plans for the English-based players are not understood to have been finalised yet.
Arsenal are another team who will see several players fly off to Africa for the tournament, with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon joining Ghana's Thomas Partey, Egypt's Mohamed Elneny and Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe at the tournament.
Chelsea will likely lose their Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy for the winter tournament, while Manchester City will have to cope without Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez.
Watford could lose as many as five players for the tournament including key attackers Ismaila Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis, while Leicester City are set to lose four, with Nigerian duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried N'Didi set to be involved.
Crystal Palace may also be without three players with Wilfried Zaha and Cheikou Kouyate joining Ghanaian duo Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp at AFCON, while Aston Villa will lose three players - Marvelous Nakamba, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore.
Manchester United are only set to lose Ivorian duo Eric Bailly and Amad Diallo for the tournament, while Tottenham do not have any African players who could be called up for the competition.
The tournament was meant to take place in June and July of this year, but was delayed to the start of 2022 due to 'unfavourable climatic conditions' in the summer months, according to CAF.