CAIRO: Ahly boss Manuel Jose named recently-promoted youngsters Mohamed Talaat, Mostafa Salah and Shehab Al-Din Ahmed in his squad for Thursday s Egyptian Premier League game at Tersana.
U-21 striker Talaat joined Ahly in the past January transfer window from Ahly Dubai, while Salah and Shehab came from the Cairo Giants youth ranks.
The Portuguese head coach picked the trio for the critical match to fill the void left by a good number of suspended and injured players.
Skipper Shadi Mohamed, who has just recovered from a groin injury, has been excluded after sustaining a hamstring strain, and will undergo a three-day recovery program as a result.
The 32-year-old made his comeback in the second leg of the CAF champions league round of 16 against Kano Pillars, which saw Ahly wave goodbye to the continental competition.
Influential midfielders Ahmed Fathi, Moataz Eno and Sayed Mowad have also been ruled out due to automatic suspensions.
Hussein Yasser are Wael Gomaa are out through injury.
Ahly are in second place on 54 points, three behind leaders Ismaili, who have only a couple of games to go.
The Red Devils on the other hand have three matches left this season.
