Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib still holds out hope that influential duo Mohamed Abou-Treika and Amr Zaki will be able to feature for the Pharaohs in the 2010 African Cup of Nations (CAN). Playmaker Abou-Treika suffered in November a serious foot injury that is expected to keep him on the sidelines till after the continental competition. On the other hand, Zamalek announced on Monday that marksman Zaki will be out of action for up to six weeks in order to recover from a hamstring tear. However, Gharib assured that Egypt's technical staff received no medical reports confirming that both players would be unavailable for Egypt's CAN campaign through injury. "We haven't received medical reports ruling out any player of the competition, including Abou-Treika and Zaki," he told Modern TV. Egypt's coaching staff are set to name their squad for the African Cup of Nations on December 21st. "Four goalies will be chosen as well as 24 players," Gharib added Egypt, who won back-to-back CAN titles in 2006 and 2008, will play a warm-up game either on December 29th or 30th. The other team are yet to be determined. Their preparation camp will be held in UAE for around a week starting January 1st.
