Ahly have received a boost for their Sundowns trip as impactful left back Ali Maaloul and versatile midfielder Hamdi Fathi have been included in the squad for the second leg of the African Champions League qaurter finals next Saturday.

Tunisian international Ali Maaloul has been out for three months now since sustaining a hamstring injury against Bayern Munich in the Club World Cup semi-finals on 8 February.

The 31-year-old player is unlikely to start against Sundowns, maybe featuring for a few minutes, but is expected to be ready for the African Super Cup game against Morocco's RS Berkane on 28 May in Qatar.

International midfielder Hamdi Fathi had also been out since sustaining an arm injury while playing for Egypt against Kenya on 25 March. He has been declared fit for the game, but is also expected to be a backup option for in-form duo Amr El-Sulaya and Aliou Dieng.

Coach Pitso Mosimane will also welcome back the return of midfielder Akram Tawfik, who missed the previous games against Zamalek and Sundowns due to knee pains, while striker Marwan Mohsen will miss the trip due to a knock sustained in training.

Ahly traveled to Pretoria on Monday to complete their mission after their 2-0 home win against their South African rivals last Saturday, and will then fly directly to Doha ahead of the Super Cup game.

“Sundowns’ tie is divided into two parts; we’ve played 90 minutes in Cairo, and the remaining 90 minutes will be in Pretoria. Sudnowns is a tough and distinguished opponent, so we have to forget about the home game and prepare for the next one,” Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz told the club’s website.

Mosimane stressed that his club has faced a tough schedule in the latest period, but assured that “there are no excuses, we are Ahly, we are a big team.”

Ahly squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shennawi, Ali Lotfi, Hamza Alaa.

Defenders: Rami Rabia, Yasser Ibrahim, Badr Benoun, Mahmoud Metwalli, Saad Samir, Ayman Ashraf, Mahmoud Wahid, Mohamed Hani, Ahmed ‘Beckham’ Ramadan, Ali Maaloul.

Midfielders: Amr El-Sulaya, Aliou Dieng, Hamdi Fathi, Mohamed ‘Afsha’ Magdi, Akram Tawfik, Nasser Maher, Taher Mohamed, Hussein El-Shahat, Walid Soliman, Mahmoud ‘Kahraba’ Abdel Moneim, Junior Ajayi.

Strikers: Salah Mohsen, Mohamed Sherif, Walter Bwalya.

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