Confirmation that the Africa Cup of Nations will return to its January time slot next year was met with disappointment from Liverpool supporters.

The Cameroon Football Federation announced on Wednesday that that tournament will be played between January 9 and February 6, 2021, due to “meteorological reasons”.

Liverpool will be one of the worst affected Premier League sides, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita all likely to feature.

Qualifying for the tournament is underway and Arsenal will be closely monitoring how Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon will get on.

Gabon failed to qualify for last summer’s edition of the tournament but they’re currently second in their qualifying group.

Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria are the reigning champions but he’s set to be the only player Manchester City lose.

The Independent have listed all the Premier League players set to play in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to see how each team will be affected.

Arsenal | 2
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast)

Aston Villa | 3
Ahmed Elmohamady (Egypt)
Jonathan Kodija (Ivory Coast)
Trezeguet (Egypt)

Brighton | 3
Leon Balogun (Nigeria)
Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Gaeten Bong (Cameroon)

Crystal Palace | 3
Jordan Ayew (Ghana)
Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal)
Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)

Everton | 2
Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast)
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)

Leicester City | 3
Daniel Amartey (Ghana)
Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria)
Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria)

Liverpool | 3
Naby Keita (Guinea)
Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Manchester City | 1
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)

Manchester United | 1
Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)

Newcastle United | 2
Christian Atsu (Ghana)
Henri Saivet (Senegal)

Southampton | 3
Sofiane Boufal (Morocco)
Moussa Djenepo (Mali)
Jan Valery (Tunisia)

Tottenham Hotspur | 2
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast)
Victor Wanyama (Kenya)

Watford | 2
Isaac Success (Nigeria)
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)

West Ham | 2
Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo)
Romain Saiss (Morocco)

So Liverpool are set to be without three players for a month-long period next season.

Two of those players - Mane and Salah - are incredibly important to their success.

Pep Guardiola will be secretly smiling. The Man City boss knows that he can cope without Mahrez for a brief spell.

Leicester could also lose three players and Ndidi will be a huge miss.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will not say goodbye to anyone

It will be interesting to see how managers cope with the potential departures of their most important players.

Will they invest in a replacement in the transfer window? Perhaps.