The Islamist Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a potential candidate for the Egyptian presidency, suffered a concussion Thursday night after three men armed with rifles assaulted him on Cairo's Ring Road and stole his car, his campaign manager Ali al-Bahnasawy told reporters.

His campaign said in a statement that Aboul Fotouh was wounded by blows to the head with a rifle butt as he tried to defend his driver. The driver was also wounded, a police official said without detailing his injuries.

Aboul Fotouh, a former senior member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement, is considered one of the more popular candidates in the election, which is set to take place by the end of June.

The 60-year-old physician was returning to Cairo after attending a campaign rally in the Delta governorate of Menoufiya when the attack took place.

Presidential hopefuls Mohamed Selim El-Awa, Hisham El-Bastawisi, Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabahi issued statements condemning the attacks on Aboul Fetouh, and called on the authorities to apprehend the perpetrators.