Hussein El Shahat is in line to make his Egypt debut on Tuesday, with the Al Ain midfielder hoping to feature in the World Cup warm-up against Greece in Switzerland.
The winger, called up to his national team for the eight-day training camp in Zurich, did not feature in Friday’s defeat to Portugal as he continued his recovery from an injury sustained last week playing for Al Ain against Al Jazira.
El Shahat has been a revelation since joining the Arabian Gulf League leaders on loan in January from Egypt’s Misr El Makkasa. He has scored seven goals and registered 12 assists in 12 appearances across all competitions.
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Currently Al Ain head the UAE top flight by four points with three matches remaining. Last Tuesday, the club announced El Shahat, 25, had signed a permanent deal running through to 2021.
He appears set now to celebrate the contract with his international bow, as El Shahat looks to force his way into Hector Cuper’s World Cup squad.
Egypt team manager, Ehab Leheta, confirmed El Shahat is a candidate for making the plane to Russia this summer, and that Cuper had been impressed with the player even before his successful few months at Al Ain.
“The coach was following El Shahat in the Egyptian league from a long time ago,” Leheta said. “Then, during the last games with Al Ain in the UAE, he took a little injury in his leg, so this week at the camp he has trained alone.
“But [on Saturday] he participated with the team in training and I believe he will play a good role in the team for the coming period. He had adapted well, as one of two new elements together with Mohammed Magdy. They felt like they had been in the training camps with the team since a long time.”