Defending champions Ahly have suffered another defensive blow as Sherif Hazem has been ruled out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury. According to Ahram Sport, the 25-year-old defender underwent scans on Friday that showed that he will be sidelined for 6 to 8 weeks. Hazem featured in the Red Devils' stunning 4-1 defeat by Ittihad of Alexandria in the Egyptian Premier League on Wednesday and was substituted midway the second half. The former Smouha defender, who joined Ahly last summer, has recently become one of the team's key players, making it to the starting eleven at the expense of the experienced Mohamed Naguib, Coach Juan Carlos Garrido had to reshuffle his back-four several times over the past weeks as the team has been struggling with injuries, with the likes of Bassem Ali, Saad Samir, Sabri Rahil, Hussein El-Sayed spending considerable time on the sidelines. Things could only get worse with the injury of Hazem and the calf complaint of new recruit Loai Wael, who made two appearances this season. Ahly will play Maqassa next Sunday as they hope to return to winning ways after being held to a 0-0 draw by Wadi Degla before slumping to an embarrassing loss at home to Ittihad. (For more sports news andupdates, follow AhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118880.aspx