Ahly midfielder Sobhi ready for Egypt's African qualifier with Tanzania

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Tuesday 9 Jun 2015

Sobhy skipped Egypt's friendly win over Malawi on Monday due to injury

Ahly
Ahly's midfielder Ramdan Sobhy (Photo: Al-Ahram)

Ahly midfielder Ramadan Sobhi says he is ready to join the Egyptian national team's current training camp after recovering from an injury.

The Pharaohs are currently preparing for the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. They will officially kick off their bid to reach the Gabon finals on 14 June against Tanzania.

On Monday, Egypt defeated Malawi 2-1 in a friendly match in Alexandria amid preparation for the qualifiers.

"I am ready to join the national team camp in Alexandria starting from Wednesday," Sobhi was quoted as saying by Ahly's official website on Tuesday.

"I was suffering from muscular fatigue after Sunday's match with Club Africain but now I am ready for the Tanzania clash," added the midfielder, who scored the decisive goal in the penalty shootout against the Tunisian club to help Ahly reach the African Confederation Cup group stage.

Missing both Ahly and Zamalek players who had continental commitments with their clubs on Sunday, Cuper relied on a second string team against Malawi.

The coach called eight Zamalek players and just two from Ahly -- including Sobhy -- to join the training camp directly after their African matches, but they didn't feature in the game.

Cuper vented his anger against Sobhi after failing to join the camp on time.

"Sobhi should have come to the camp to undergo scans under the supervision of our medical team, but he didn't," the Argentinean coach said in the press conference after the Malawi match.

Egypt, who won seven AFCON trophies, have been drawn in Group G of the 2017 qualifiers along with Nigeria, Tanzania and Chad.

Cuper's side has been out of action since November, when they failed to qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations, under former coach Shawky Gharib.

The national team’s only other recent friendly was in March, weeks after Cuper’s appointment, when they defeated Equatorial Guinea 2-0.

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