Two more Egypt stars have been ruled out of Sunday’s international friendly match against Bafana Bafana, joining Mohamed Salah, who was already excused for the game at Cairo International Stadium.
France-born Celtic FC winger Haitham Hassan will not take part in Sunday’s match due to fitness concerns. The Egypt Football Association confirmed that, “The coaching staff, in coordination with the medical staff, preferred to rest Haitham Hassan from tomorrow’s [Sunday] match.”
OGC Nice centre-back Mohamed Abdelmonem was withdrawn from camp by his club ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifier trip to South Sudan, where Egypt were set to play on artificial turf.
It was the same reason why Salah left the Pharaohs camp ahead of the South Sudan assignment. Despite assurances by coach Hossam Hassan that the Trabzonspor attacker would return for the Bafana friendly, he did not rejoin camp. Hassan will now have his squad testing themselves without three key players.
OGC NICE’S POSITION ON EGYPT STAR MOHAMED ABDELMONEM
“This decision was reached mutually, in light of the conditions in which Egypt’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan was due to be played – on an artificial pitch – and was taken with the shared aim of not putting the player’s health at risk.
“OGC Nice is fully committed to ensuring that Mohamed and all of its other international players can represent their country in the best possible conditions, whilst also paying particular attention to their health, their recovery and their physical wellbeing.
“The club would like to thank the Egypt team’s coaching staff for the healthy discussions that were had, for their understanding and for their work with Mohamed during this training camp. Mohamed will now continue to work with OGC Nice in order to prepare for the team’s upcoming matches in the best way possible.”
However, there has been some good news in the Pharaohs camp with Zamalek left-back Ahmed Fatouh certified fit to play against Bafana after straining his thigh against South Sudan.
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