Monday's Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League has been postponed for an indefinite period, the Egyptian Football Association said on Wednesday.

The (EFA) has not revealed yet the reasons of the derby postponement. The association's officials denied earlier this week widespread reports that the anticipated fixture would be delayed. 

"The competitions committee will set the new date of the Cairo derby in the coming days," read a statement on the EFA's official website.

The statement added that Zamalek will face Smouha while Ahly will take on Ittihad of Alexandria on Monday instead. 

The bitter Cairo foes could breath a sigh of relief after the match was postponed, given that both were hit with coronavirus infections recently.

Ahly were likely to miss central midfielder Amr El-Sulaya, playmaker Magdi Afsha and defender Rami Rabia while Zamalek would have played without defensive midfielder Tarek Hamed and central defender Mahmoud Alaa. 

Zamalek are sixth in the league table with four points after they opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Arab Contractors before being held to a 1-1 draw by Pyramids FC.

Defending champions Ahly are on top with maximum six points following wins over Maqassa and Ghazl El-Mahalla. 

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