Egypt coach Hassan Shehata should have dealt better with Shikabala's injury saga to avoid possible distractions in the future. The Zamalek wizard once again raised doubts about his commitment to the national team after pulling out of Egypt's squad for the friendly game against Australia, apparently due to a back injury he picked up in a league game against Ismaili. Shikabala already has a bad reputation after Shehata said he feigned injury to skip Egypt's game at home to Sierra Leone in the opening game of the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers few months ago. Shikabala's controversial attitude ahead of the Sierra Leone game should have prompted the highly-successful coach not to take anything the 24-year-old or his club Zamalek say for granted. Zamalek doctor Mostafa Al-Monayeri said that Shikabala would not be able to play against Australia on Wednesday because he suffers from a back complaint. The normal sequence should be as follows: Shikabala should report to international duty and be examined by Egypt doctor Ahmed Maged to quell any doubts over his commitment. However, Shehata inexplicably agreed to leave the talented but temperamental forward out of the team's squad without obliging him to undergo medical scans under the supervision of Maged. His decision to exclude Shikabala was seemingly based on Zamalek's medical report although he should have recalled the Sierra Leone incident before deciding to pardon the former PAOK man.
Everything should have been clearer for the public to avoid the persistent speculation over Shikabala's stance Shikabala even declined to join Egypt's training camp to further stoke rumors indicating that his absence is deliberate. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was also injured before Spain's friendly against Portugal, which will be played on Wednesday, but his attitude was wholly different from Shikabala's. He will accompany Spain in their trip to Lisbon and Liverpool said his condition 'will be further assessed by the Spanish medical staff'. There is also an Egyptian example in Zamalek keeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed, who joined up with Egypt despite being ruled out of the Australia match after sustaining an injury in his team's 3-2 victory over Ismaili. Everything should have been clearer for the public to avoid the persistent speculation over Shikabala's stance. If he was examined by Egypt's doctor Maged, all people would have found out whether the player is feigning injury or not. The current situation will land Shehata into trouble if he opts against recalling Shikabala, who is making headlines with his impressive league displays, in the future. Some reports said Shehata is convinced that Shikabala is faking injury so if he doesn't recall him in the upcoming games people will relentlessly ask for an explanation. Shehata simply should break his silence to either defend Shikabala or accuse him of misconduct.
