Ahly's international defender Ahmed Hegazi will not be available for Thursday's Cairo derby against Zamalek as the player still needs time to recover from a hamstring injury, according to the 26-man list released on Monday by team coach Hossam El-Badri. The towering defender was out of action for two weeks before resuming training on Sunday, though he was dropped by the team's technical staff from the derby squad. Hegazi's absence will increase Ahly's defensive problems after the recent injury of defender Rami Rabia, who will be out of action for six weeks due to an ankle strain. The list also saw the absence of Ghanaian striker John Antwi, who is likely to quit the club in January. Antwi, who joined the Cairo giants in the summer of 2015, fell out of favour since the appointing of coach Hossam El-Badri at the start of this season. On the other hand, midfielder Amr El-Sulaya was named as a squad member after recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for one month. Ahly are leading the league table with 42 points, eight points ahead of third-placed Zamalek, who still have two matches on their plate.
