Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has said he is doing his best to keep his African players, including Egypt winger Ramadan Sobhi, for the team's first game in 2017 against Watford before they join their national teams ahead of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (CAN) tournament.
"We've asked about that. Clearly, we have a game on Tuesday and we're trying to negotiate for all the players to be available for that game," Stoke newspaper The Sentinel quoted Hughes as saying.
Egypt winger Sobhi, Senegal's Mame Diouf and Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony have all been called up for their countries for CAN in Gabon, and their teams want them for pre-tournament training camps starting next week.
"We might have a bit of leeway from Senegal, but at the moment, Egypt and Ivory Coast aren't seeing it our way," said Hughes.
"I don't think we're conceding on that yet, so we'll see what happens."
The 19-year-old, Ramadan Sobhi, who joined Stoke City last summer from Egyptian giants Ahly, is a key player on the Egypt squad and is expected to shine during the CAN tournament.
Sobhi made nine appearances with Egypt, scoring a solitary though crucial goal against Nigeria in the CAN qualifiers, allowing the seven-time African champions to qualify for the biennial tournament for the first time since 2010.
As part of the teams' preparations for CAN 2017, Egypt is set to face Tunisia in a friendly at Cairo International Stadium on 8 January.
The Pharaohs are due to take on Ghana, Mali and Uganda in Group D, which will be played in Gabon from 14 January to 5 February.
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