Egypt's new national coach Shawky Gharib has decided to call up Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah, along with other five foreign-based players, to face Bosnia in a warm-up game in March.

Egypt, the winners of a record seven African Cup of Nations trophies, have not played since the World Cup playoffs in November.

Under new coach Gharib, the Pharaohs will begin their first training camp of the year on 28 February and are set to face Bosnia in a friendly game in Austria on 5 March.

"Gharib has decided to call up six foreign-based players for the training camp ahead of Bosnia clash," the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) revealed in a statement on Tuesday.

"The six players are Mohamed Salah (Chelsea - England), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City - England), Mohamed El-Neny (Basel - Switzerland), Ali Ghazal (Nacional de Madeira - Portugal), Saleh Gomaa (Nacional de Madeira - Portugal) and Hossam Ghaly (Lierse - Belgium)," the statement added.

Lisbon's new signing, Mahmoud "Shikabala" Abdel-Razek, was not included in the squad after being injured in his debut for the Portuguese team in the B side's 1-0 defeat against Tondela on Monday. Defender Ali Ghazal will be making his debut for the Egyptian senior team against Bosnia, while it will be the first international appearance for Salah after joining the Premier League giants from Basel last month.

The match's full squad is supposed to be announced by Gharib after the African Super Cup between Egypt's Ahly and Tunisia's Sfaxien on Thursday.

Coach Shawky Gharib and his coaching team have been watching Egyptian league matches closely from the stands in the hope of finding some new talent.

Under new boss Gharib, Egypt is hoping for a new era as they prepare for the African Cup of Nations in Morocco in July 2015.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at hramOnlineSports.)

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