CAIRO: Egypt striker Al-Sayed Hamdi has been ruled out of action for over a month after sustaining a foot injury in Saturday s 1-0 win at Rwanda in the World Cup qualifying stage.
The Petrojet ace, who was taken off late in the first half, was initially diagnosed with an ankle problem, but further medical examinations indicated that he has a hairline fracture to his instep.
Now Hamdi has been confirmed out of the Pharaohs crucial World Cup qualifier at Zambia.
He will have a splint put on his foot for three or four weeks, and he should undergo a rehabilitation program afterwards, an Egypt medic told FilGoal.com.
The absence of the 25-year-old is perceived a huge blow for Egypt, given that Hassan Shehata s frontline options are already limited.
Zamalek striker Amr Zaki suffers from a hamstring injury, his teammate Mido lacks match fitness while Borussia Dortmund s Mohamed Zidan is snubbed for disciplinary reasons.
Egypt are second in Group C of the qualifiers with seven points, behind leaders Algeria on goal difference.
Zambia are in third place on four points, while Rwanda lie bottom.
