Shikabala denied that he intends to retire from international football after being sternly criticized by the local media for allegedly feigning injury to skip Egypt's friendly game against Australia. The Zamalek wizard apparently picked up a back injury in his side's thrilling 3-2 victory over Ismaili, seven days before Egypt hosted Australia at Cairo Stadium on November 17. But widespread reports said he deliberately missed out on the game and he did little to dampen speculation when he featured in Zamalek's 1-0 victory over Masri, just four days after Egypt crushed Australia 3-0. "I never thought of retiring from international football," Shikabala, who categorically denied that he faked injury one day earlier, told FilGoal.com on Saturday. "I have only one response to the media attack that I'm subjected to – I will remain silent." Shikabala also faced similar accusation from Egypt coach Hassan Shehata when another apparent injury ruled him out of the Pharaohs' opening African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone in September. The highly-successful tactician also criticized the 24-year-old for 'being too passive when losing the ball'. Shikabala is Zamalek's top scorer with five league goals, two behind the competition's leading scorer Ahmed Abdul-Zaher of ENPPI.
