Overview
- The Egyptian Football Association announced Saturday that Mohamed Salah would not travel to Juba for Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday and was released from the national team camp.
- The EFA said the decision was pre-arranged with Salah and taken to protect him from the match’s artificial turf surface, which the federation and coaching staff described as a potential injury risk.
- Nice defender Mohamed Abdelmonem was also left out of the trip after club medical advice and a prior cruciate ligament operation warned against playing on artificial turf.
- The EFA named Al Ahly forward Osama Faisal as Salah’s replacement in the travelling squad, underlining an immediate operational reshuffle ahead of the qualifier.
- Unconfirmed press reports have suggested a clash with coach Hossam Hassan or family/health concerns as alternate reasons for Salah’s absence, and commentators have questioned the consistency of the turf argument given Salah’s club fixtures on similar surfaces.