CAIRO: Fadl, who is usually deployed as a lone front man, pulled out of Saturday's training session after tearing a calf muscle. Al-Badri will have no option but to field Liberian striker Francis Doe, who is criticized for failing to make a notable impact after joining last summer on a free transfer. Mohamed Talaat, who was a regular member of Egypt's U-20 starting line up for last year's World Cup on home soil, will act as his deputy with no other strikers available at Al-Badri's disposal. Egypt forward Mohamed Nagi 'Geddo' has been already ruled out of the game after the Egyptian FA imposed a short ban on him until they investigate his contractual dispute. Emad Meteb joined Belgian outfit Standard Liege while newly-arrived Lebanese striker Mohamed Ghaddar was left out of Ahly's squad for the annual competition because he is short of match fitness. Al-Badri was boosted though by Mohamed Abou-Treika's return to training. The classy playmaker picked up a minor injury recently but he was declared fit to play against Hodoud. Ahly, who won the Super Cup a record five times, will be looking to end a barren run of late against the Egyptian Cup holders. Hodoud opened last season with a surprise 2-0 victory over Ahli in the Super Cup. They also held the Red Devils to two draws in the Premier League before defeating them in the Egyptian Cup final on penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
