Percy Tau makes long-waited return to action for Al Ahly
Percy Tau made his long-awaited return to action for Al Ahly when he featured in a friendly against their youth team on Thursday.
The Egyptian giants confirmed that Tau played in the friendly, which the senior team won.
Details about the actual scoreline were not readily available.
Al Ahly say the friendly involved players who did not play in the Egyptian Premier League game against Ismaily on Wednesday.
“The rest of the players then faced the youth team in a friendly match as part of our preparations for our next game in the Egyptian Premier League.
“Moreover, Percy Tau participated in the friendly game normally after he recovered from his injury,” Al Ahly website reports.
Tau’s return to action is good news for Bafana Bafana as his inactivity at the club has deprived him an opportunity for call-ups.
The South African forward was conspicuously absent from Al Ahly’s squad that started the Egyptian Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Ismaily in Alexandria.
It was the third straight game that Tau had missed this season despite returning to full squad training recently.
The Bafana Bafana star was not in the Al Ahly squad that beat US Monastir 1-0 in Tunisia then 3-0 in Cairo in the CAF Champions League first round.
Al Ahly have since confirmed their place in the group stages of the Champions League where the real business starts.
Tau was among the leading players who helped Al Ahly reach the final of the last edition of the continental league.
The Egyptian side lost 2-0 to Wydad Casablanca in the final in what proved to be South African coach Pitso Mosimane’s last game in charge of Al Ahly.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns forward Tau had been sidelined by a leg injury for the better part of the year.
He was months ago a subject of transfer but new coach Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller opted to keep him.
Koller, the former Austria trainer, replaced Portuguese Ricardo Soares last month.
The Red Eagles return to action to face Aswan on Sunday.