Shikabala's loan stint with Ismaily could come to a premature end after the club's coach Mido, who vowed that he would help the Sporting Lisbon outcast restore his glory days, stepped down. The 29-year-old winger, who endured a miserable spell with Sporting in Portugal where he made a single appearance before going AWOL in protest at lack of opportunities, re-joined boyhood club Zamalek in the summer before being loaned out to Ismaily until the end of the season. Shikabala mainly agreed to move to Ismaily because of the presence of Mido, a former nomadic player who had spells with a handful of European clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Ajax Amsterdam, AS Roma and Marseille. Things looked promising in the early stages of the season, with Shikabala scoring twice and creating three goals in Ismaily's opening six Egyptian Premier League games. However, Mido handed in his resignation after falling out with club icon Hosni Abd-Rabou, leaving Shikabala to contemplate his future. The talented schemer, who has never lived up to his potential due to numerous off-field problems which also restricted his appearances with the Egyptian national team to 27 matches, is said to be considering a return to Zamalek in January, according to local media reports. However, he has to get the approval of Zamalek's new Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta, given that the club are only allowed to replace three players in their squad during the January transfer window. The White Knights have already signed Ittihad full-back Ramzi Khaled after agreeing to loan out defender Islam Gamal to Smouha. They have not decided whether they will replace two more players. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/177421.aspx
