AFCON 2027 qualifiers: Mohamed Abdelmonem ruled out of Egypt trip to South Sudan

Mohamed Abdelmonem will miss Egypt’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan after his club, OGC Nice, advised against him playing on the artificial surface at Juba National Stadium.

Nice sent a medical report to the Egyptian national team recommending that Abdelmonem should not feature in Tuesday’s match because of the playing surface.

The defender has only recently returned to action after a lengthy absence caused by a serious cruciate ligament injury.

Nice therefore advised the Egyptian technical staff to avoid using him in the match in Juba as a precaution.

The Egyptian national team accepted the recommendation, meaning Abdelmonem will not travel with the squad for the second round of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers.

Abdelmonem left out of South Sudan trip

Egypt team director Ibrahim Hassan confirmed that Abdelmonem would not be included in the delegation travelling to South Sudan.

The decision follows the medical advice provided by Nice regarding the defender’s return from his long-term injury.

With Abdelmonem having only recently resumed playing after his cruciate ligament problem, his French club raised concerns about exposing him to the artificial pitch at Juba National Stadium.

The Egyptian staff agreed with the recommendation and decided not to risk the defender in the upcoming qualifier.

Egypt prepare on synthetic surface

Egypt held a training session on Sunday morning at the Air Defense Stadium as part of their preparations for the match.

The session was conducted on a synthetic pitch, allowing the squad to continue its preparations ahead of the trip to South Sudan.

Twenty-three players took part in the training session, including Omar Marmoush, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Imam Ashour and Mostafa Shobeir.

After completing the session, the Egyptian delegation headed to Cairo airport for the journey to South Sudan.

Pharaohs face South Sudan in second qualifier

Egypt will meet South Sudan on Tuesday, September 29, in their second match of the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 1:00pm GMT.

The Pharaohs will arrive in the fixture looking for a result after being held to a goalless draw by Angola in their opening qualifying match.

Hossam Hassan’s side were unable to find a breakthrough against Angola, leaving them with one point from their first game.

Egypt begin preparations without Abdelmonem

Abdelmonem’s absence means Egypt will travel to South Sudan without the Nice defender after the medical recommendation from his club.

The decision has been taken with the player’s recent return from injury in mind, with Nice specifically advising the national team against using him on the artificial surface.

Egypt’s preparations have continued despite his absence, with the squad completing its training session before travelling.

The Pharaohs will now focus on the second match of their qualifying campaign as they seek to respond to the draw against Angola.

The trip to South Sudan will provide Egypt with their next opportunity to collect points in the race for qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

For Abdelmonem, however, the international break will end without an appearance in the match, after Nice’s medical recommendation was accepted by the Egyptian national team.