Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has decided to rest Egypt star Omar Marmoush for the Champions League clash against Bodø/Glimt following AFCON 2025 participation.
Marmoush represented the Pharaohs at the just ended Africa Cup of Nations, held in Morocco, with Senegal emerging as the eventual winners.
Despite rejoining his Manchester City teammates, Guardiola admits Marmoush is tired and will not be able to participate against Bodø/Glimt.
“I don’t think Omar Marmoush is ready to play, I don’t think so. We need Erling and all the players. I don’t know if Omar will come back and Erling will play. Erling is a very important player for us.” he said ahead of the match.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has refused to blame Omar Marmoush’s absence for Manchester City’s loss to Manchester United in the English Premier League.
“Omar is an exceptional player, his movements behind the defenders are fantastic, but it is not appropriate to say that the reason we did not achieve a positive result here or in previous matches is his absence.”
Marmoush and the Egyptian national team finished fourth in the Africa Cup of Nations after succumbing to a 4-2 penalty shootouts defeat to Nigeria.
The enterprising attacker scored one goal and provided an assist for the Egyptian national team at the recently concluded AFCON tournament, held in Morocco.
