CAIRO: Egypt manager Hassan Shehata has opened the door for Mohamed Zidan to join the national team despite being suspended by the Egyptian Football Association.
The Hamburg striker was banned indefinitely after refusing to play against DR Congo in the World Cup qualifiers this summer, citing a leg injury.
Egypt s medical staff asserted that Zidan wasn t injured and Shehata decided to drop him.
But Shehata said that Zidan could play against DR Congo in the qualifiers on Sept. 5.
I have nothing against Zidan, he told FilGoal.com.
We follow him closely and his performances with Hamburg will determine whether he will be called up or not.
Ahmed “Mido Hossam is set to make his Egypt comeback in this month s friendly game with Sudan.
Shehata had said earlier that Mido is likely to feature for Egypt after regaining his fitness.
Mido missed the African Cup of Nations in January after undergoing pelvic surgery and remained the rest of the last season on the sidelines with different injuries.
Mido looked sharp in the pre-season, Shehata said.
He lost 15 kg and works hard with his team (Middlesbrough). I hope he would be ready to play for Egypt.
Mido s Middlesbrough teammate Mohamed Shawky was also recalled, along with foreign-based trio Amr Zaki, Hosni Abd-Rabou and Essam Al-Hadari.
The list didn’t include Amir Azmi and Sherif Ekrami, in addition to Hossam Ghaly, who is yet to recover from a knee injury.
The local-based players will complete the squad on Aug. 14, one week after the kickoff of the Egyptian league s new season.
