CAIRO: Egypt coach Hassan Shehata stressed that the inclusion of Mohamed Abou-Trika in the Pharaohs squad for Wednesday s friendly with England is not a compliment to the veteran playmaker.
Ahly midfielder Abou-Trika has just returned to action following a long-standing foot injury.
The 31-year-old, who made a cameo appearance in Ahly s 2-2 league draw with Gaish, was tipped to miss the anticipated exhibition game because he s still out of form.
But Shehata surprisingly named him in the list, which prompted criticism against the highly-rated tactician.
Abou-Trika is now fit and that s why he earned a place in the squad. There are no compliments for anyone, Shehata told Egyptian radio.
He s been an Egypt key player for so long.
First he didn t want a place in the squad, out of fear that another player would be omitted, but that s not the case.
Former Zamalek star Shehata also explained why Amr Zaki, who has recently shaken off a hamstring injury, was called up to the squad.
We also had to name Amr Zaki as a result of our limited frontline options. We can t face England with a depleted squad.
Egypt s list includes six strikers in Emad Meteb, Mohamed Zidan, Ahmed Raouf, Sayed Hamdi, Mohamed “Geddo Nagi and Zaki.
