Egypt U23 coach Shawky Gharib has pulled back from claims that Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah will be part of his Olympics squad.

Should Salah be picked, he could miss the whole of pre-season and the start of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign, as the Olympics football final is scheduled for Saturday 8 August - the opening day of the season.

"Salah's participation with the Pharaohs team in Tokyo is a decision to be taken only by Salah, his club Liverpool and his coach Jurgen Klopp," said Gharib this morning.

"We cannot force Salah to participate with us because FIFA regulations do not compel him to participate."

Gharib will select a preliminary 50-man squad before submitting a final group of 18 players in June.