ABU DHABI // Adil Hermach, the Morocco international, has moved to Al Wahda on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal as a replacement for the injured Marco Estrada.
The Chile midfielder has been ruled out for three months after undergoing knee surgery in Turkey. He has made only 10 appearances for the Abu Dhabi club this season after injury also ruled him out of the start of the campaign.
Hermach, who joins for a fee of €3 million (Dh15m), could make his debut against Baniyas on Tuesday night in a rescheduled Arabian Gulf League fixture at the Al Nahyan Stadium.
“It is still too early to say if he would play or not, we will decide on the day of the match,” Jose Peseiro, the Wahda coach said.
The match has been brought forward to provide Baniyas more time to prepare for their Asian Champions League (ACL) play-off on February 8 against the winner of Sunday’s game between Al Suwaiq of Oman and Al Qadsia of Kuwait.
Wahda have been disappointing this season, out of both domestic cup competitions and languishing in ninth place in the league table.
“We have had problems from the start of the season and all what we can do now is to try to finish as high as possible in the league,” said Peseiro, who replaced the Czech Karel Jarolim in November.
“We are facing a tough game against a strong and organised Baniyas side but I trust the ability of my players to get the right result. It is very important for us to take maximum points if we wish to move up in the rankings, especially as it is a home game.”
Baniyas have also brought forward their game against Al Nasr to Monday to prepare for their ACL play-off.
Despite being 12 points behind leaders Al Ahli, Jorge da Silva, thecoach, is refusing to rule out their chances of winning the title with 30 points still to play for.
“We are fifth in the League now and our goal is to compete for the championship title,” he said.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
