Zamalek club midfielder Mohamed Aboul-Ella was left out of his side s squad for Harras Al-Hodoud game in the Egyptian League on Tuesday due to injury, the club said.
Aboul-Ella suffers hamstring problems but he is likely to link up with his team mates before the Cairo derby against Ahly on Saturday.
Rumors in the club said Aboul-Ella was dropped after Moetazbellah Mohamed Eno s ban was lift but the Zamalek co-captain brushed these reports aside.
I have started almost all Zamalek s games this season and it is not possible to be ruled out after Eno s return, Aboul-Ella said.
Moreover, the coaching staff said more than once that they need all the players in this tough period.
Right-back Ahmed Hossam was sidelined with a sprained ankle. Both players join Gamal Hamza who has back problems.
Meanwhile, French coach Henri Michel arrived in Cairo on Monday night to open talks with Zamalek.
He is set to attend Al-Hodoud game in the Cairo International Stadium before holding a meeting with the board of directors.
Egyptian coach Mahmoud Saad, who took charge of the team against Al-Hodoud and will lead the squad against Ahly, has been named a caretaker manager and will be relegated to assistant coach once a foreign manager is signed.
Meanwhile, international goalkeeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed returned to his first competitive match in eight months when Zamalek took on Harras Al-Hodoud on Tuesday.
Zamalek’s first-pick goalkeeper, Mohamed Abdul-Monsef, picked up the flu and missed the team’s crucial game against Al-Hodoud. He will likely be out of the running for the Ahly came on Saturday.
Abdul-Monsef’s sudden illness has left interim manager Mahmoud Saad no choice but to depend on the out-of-form Al-Sayed, a member of Zamalek’s coaching staff said.
Al-Sayed had sustained a ligament injury in training last April and was scheduled to return in October.
But the Egyptian international sustained an injury to his hand after being attacked by rogue club fans inside the club.
Zamalek’s coach Saad is set to announce the squad that will enter a closed training camp between Tuesday’s match and the derby game against Ahly on Saturday.
