Ismaily's veteran goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary returned to Egypt's squad on Sunday after coach Shawky Gharib decided to call him up for Wednesday's clash against Tunisia in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers. The 41-year-old will replace Ahmed El-Shennawy, who sustained an injury after falling akwardly on his ankle during Saturday's 1-0 home defeat by Senegal at Cairo Stadium. El-Shennawy was at fault for Senegal's solitary goal, making a poor jump to allow Mame Diouf to head home following a free-kick. El-Hadary was dropped from the squad that lost to Senegal after reportedly rejecting a bench role. The former Ahly and Zamalek man, who is widely regarded as one of Egypt's best-ever keepers, was named in the team's squad for the opening two defeats by Senegal and Tunisia in September but expressed his displeasure over his status as a stand-in. He was consequently dropped by Gharib for the following games. Egypt, who are third in Group with six points, need to beat Tunisia away from home to stand a chance of finishing as the best third-placed side in the seven groups - a target that looks highly unlikely. They have not qualified for the Nations Cup since lifting the last of their record seven trophies in 2010 in Angola. (For more sports news and updates, followAhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/115691.aspx
