Egypt's midfielder Hamdi Fathi will miss the Pharaohs' upcoming two AFCON qualifiers against Kenya and Comoros after suffering a torn ligament in his knee during Monday's training session, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced.

"Fathi bruised his knee during the training session and medical scans revealed that he tore his ligament. The EFA will cover the cost of the player's treatment," the EFA said in a statement late on Monday.

In the first official match under new coach Hossam El-Badry, the Pharaohs will host Kenya on Thursday in the first match of the 2021 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifiers, before facing Comoros in the second match away from home four days later.

Cairo giants Ahly announced later on Monday that their midfielder Fathi will undergo further scans to determine the treatment programme amid reports that he would remain on the sidelines for almost three months. 

Since El-Badry's appointment, Egypt won two friendly matches amid preparations for the African qualifiers, beating Botswana 1-0 last month before claiming a late 1-0 win over Liberia on Thursday.

Recently injured Fathi made a dream debut for his international career by scoring the winner against Botswana.

Egypt is competing in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

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