Mohamed Magdy Afsha returns to Al Ahly squad for Smouha clash

Mohamed Magdy “Afsha” has returned to the Al Ahly squad for Thursday’s league meeting with Smouha, while Emam Ashour remains absent from head coach Hussein Ammouta’s selection.

Al Ahly will host Smouha at 20:00 on Thursday in the third round of the league. The defending side go into the match in third place with six points from two victories, while Smouha are 17th on one point after a draw and a defeat.

Afsha missed Al Ahly’s previous league match but has been included this time. His return is the main change to the squad announced by Ammouta.

Emam Ashour is again not involved, having been left out among 10 players considered not technically ready. Al Ahly will also be without Akram Tawfik and Karim El Debes, who continue to recover from injury.

Omar El Saai has also been omitted despite appearing as a substitute in the previous match.

Al Ahly squad

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir, Hamza Alaa

Defenders: Yassin Marei, Hady Reyad, Yasser Ibrahim, Amr El Gazzar, Karim Fouad, Mohamed Hany, Ahmed Nabih Kouka

Midfielders: Ahmed Reda, Marwan Attia, Ali Mahmoud, Mohamed Magdy “Afsha”, Hussein El Shahat, Taher Mohamed Taher, Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”, Achraf Bencharki

Forwards: Sofiane Benjdida, Monsef Bekrar, Aktai Abdallah

The players left out of the squad are Omar El Saai, Akram Tawfik, Emam Ashour, Tawfik Mohamed, Karim El Debes, Ahmed Eid, Ahmed Khaled “Kebaka”, Omar Sayed Moawad, Mohamed Abdullah, Mohamed Raafat, Achraf Dari, Reda Slim and Mahmoud Salah.

Al Ahly’s perfect start has placed them among the early leaders, with six points secured from their opening two matches. Smouha, by contrast, have yet to record a victory and will arrive at Al Ahly’s ground with only a single point from their first two fixtures.

The match gives Afsha the opportunity to return to competitive action with the squad after his absence from the previous round, while Al Ahly continue to manage a number of players who are either injured or not yet considered ready for selection.