Egypt have suffered another setback before beginning their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, with Al Wakrah midfielder Hamdy Fathy ruled out of the current national team camp because of injury. The coaching staff have responded by calling up Frosinone defender Omar Fayed as his replacement.

The decision to bring Fayed into the squad came shortly after Egypt team director Ibrahim Hassan confirmed that Fathy would not recover in time for the Pharaohs' next three matches. The midfielder picked up the injury while playing for Al Wakrah against Al Sailiya in the Qatar Cup.

Egypt, led by head coach Hossam Hassan, are preparing for an important international period that includes two competitive matches against Angola and South Sudan in the opening rounds of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, followed by a friendly against South Africa in October.

Injury Rules Out Hamdy Fathy

Fathy suffered the injury while playing for Al Wakrah against Al Sailiya, and after his condition was assessed, it became clear that he would not be ready in time for Egypt's matches during the current international break.

The midfielder will therefore miss the games against Angola and South Sudan on September 25 and 29, as well as the friendly against South Africa on October 4.

Fathy's absence is another important loss for Egypt. He has been one of the players regularly used by the national team in recent years and has plenty of international experience, with 67 appearances and three goals for Egypt.

He has now joined Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Yasser Ibrahim on the list of players missing the camp through injury, forcing the coaching staff to make another change to the squad before the matches begin.

Once Fathy's absence was confirmed, Egypt moved quickly to cover the gap by calling up Frosinone defender Omar Fayed.

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New Chance for Omar Fayed

The call-up gives the 23-year-old defender another opportunity to move closer to making his senior Egypt debut after previously joining the national team without playing an international match.

Fayed currently plays as a centre-back for Italian side Frosinone after moving from Turkish club Fenerbahce. He has also gained European experience during loan spells with Serbia's Novi Pazar, Belgium's Beerschot and Portugal's Arouca.

This is not Fayed's first call-up to the senior Egypt squad. He was previously selected in June 2023, while playing for Arab Contractors, when Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria called him up to replace the absent Ahmed Hegazi. However, Fayed did not feature in a match during that camp.

The defender also has experience with Egypt's youth and Olympic teams and was part of the Egyptian Olympic side during its campaign at the Paris Olympic Games.

His latest call-up comes at an important stage of his career. The current camp could give him another chance to impress Hossam Hassan's coaching staff and possibly earn his first minutes with the senior national team, especially with several players unavailable.

Egypt will begin their qualifying campaign against Angola at Cairo International Stadium on September 25 before facing South Sudan on September 29. The Pharaohs will then complete the international period with a friendly against South Africa on October 4.

Hossam Hassan and his staff will be hoping to deal with the injury problems without affecting the team's start to the qualifiers, as Egypt look to collect important points from their opening two matches.

While the absence of an experienced player such as Hamdy Fathy creates a difficult situation for Egypt, it has also opened the door for Omar Fayed to begin a new chapter in his international career and move closer to making his first senior appearance for the Pharaohs.