Ahli full-back Ahmed Fathi is set for a knee operation as he faces four weeks on the sidelines after sustaining an injury during his side's 2-0 friendly win over Harras Hodoud on Monday. Fathi, 27, limped off the pitch at half time as his injury turned out to be a ligament tear, a setback that rules him out of the Champions League round of 32 return leg against Ethiopian Coffee next week. “Scans showed that Fathi has a damaged cartilage which means he will need to undergo a knee surgery within the next 48 hours,” Ahli doctor Ihab Ali told FilGoal.com. “He will be out of action for at least four weeks.” Ahli football director Sayed Abdul-Hafiz said this week that the team cannot afford to lose another player to injury, or else they may have to enter the Coffee game with an incomplete squad. The Reds host the Ethiopian champions at Military Academy Stadium on April 8, having drawn 0-0 in Addis Ababa last month.
