Ahly's assistant coach Sami Komsan said on Thursday that the team's Tunisian fullback Ali Maaloul needs around five weeks to recover from a recurrent muscle injury after being initially expected to be ready by mid-April.

''Maaloul will return after around five weeks," Komsan told reporters on Thursday.

The international fullback sustained a hamstring injury during his side's game against Bayern Munich in the first week of February, with reports suggesting that he needs around four weeks of treatment to recover from his injury.

Last month, Ahly had announced that the 31-year-old needed three weeks of treatment to fully recover from the injury, before Komsane revealed on Thursday that the key fullback will be out of action for another five weeks.

Maaloul, who is a key player in Ahly’s squad, will be out of the Cairo derby against Zamalek, which is set to be played on 18 April, and he is likely to miss another game against the White Knights scheduled on the 10 th of May.

It is likely that he will also miss the Champions League quarters.

Ahly secured its place in the Champions League quarter-finals as second in Group A behind leaders Simba of Tanzania.

The African champions will know their rival in the competition's last eight later this month as the draw is yet to be held.

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