Lack of firepower is another major concern for a depleted Egypt side as they face a must-win clash against in-form Senegal in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers on Saturday.

Egypt have struggled to fill in for Amr Zaki and Mohamed Zidan since the former international frontmen suffered a dip in form and were left jobless, with the domestic league hardly yielding a reliable striker.

And just when Ahly's Amr Gamal started to impose himself, scoring twice in seven international games including the first goal in Egypt's 2-0 home win over Botswana in their last Nations Cup qualifier, he picked up a serious knee injury that will sideline him for at least six months.

The injury leaves coach Shawky Gharib with a selection dilemma upfront, although he usually fields a lone striker supported by two wingers or attacking midfielders.

A straightforward option would be fielding Emad Meteb although the veteran striker, who scored 33 goals in 69 international appearances, has not played any game with Egypt since 2012, given some niggling injury problems and loss of form.

He has recently returned to Ahly's starting line-up following the injury of Gamal, netting a hat-trick in an exciting 4-2 Egyptian league victory over promoted Damanhour.

"I'm fully ready to play against Senegal if the coach wants me to," said Meteb, although many remain skeptical about his sharpness in front of goal following a lengthy absence.

Another option would be deploying the inexperienced Arafa El-Sayed as the lone frontman after he impressed in the Egyptian league, scoring nine goals in eight appearances with Talae El-Geish.

Zamalek's Khaled Qamar is also in contention despite his profligacy, having started the opening defeats against Senegal and Tunisia before making substitute appearances in the two victories over Botswana.

Egypt must beat Senegal in the do-or-die clash to stand a chance of progressing to next year's Nations Cup finals as one of the top two in Group G. They lie third with six points, one behind Senegal and four adrift of leaders Tunisia, whom they face away from home in their last game.

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