Mohamed Abdelmonem has left the Egyptian national team and will rejoin OGC Nice to resume his preparation.

Withdrawn from Egypt’s trip to South Sudan due to medical recommendations related to his previous anterior cruciate ligament injury, Mohamed Abdelmonem will leave the gathering. The defender must now return to OGC Nice to continue his preparation with the club.

Mohamed Abdelmonem is heading back to Nice. The central defender ultimately did not take part in Egypt’s trip to South Sudan this week where the national team had a fixture as part of the second day of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ibrahim Hassan, manager of the Egyptian national team, confirmed the withdrawal of the Nice defender from the list of players called up for this trip. The decision is based on the medical report submitted by OGC Nice.

Previously operated on for an anterior cruciate ligament injury following a match against PSG last season (April 25, 2025 during OGC Nice’s 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes), Mohamed Abdelmonem (34 years old) is subject to recommendations concerning playing football on artificial grass as was the case Tuesday against South Sudan.

OGC Nice and the Egyptian national team staff therefore discussed the player’s situation. Given that Egypt only has to play a friendly match this Sunday against South Africa, both parties decided to take no risks with the defender, who will now leave the gathering.

The Nice club confirmed this early return. “By mutual agreement with the Egyptian national team staff, Mohamed Abdelmonem has left the national team gathering in order to preserve his fitness and physical integrity.”

His return to Nice should allow the defender to continue his work with his club. OGC Nice specifies that Mohamed Abdelmonem will now prepare “in the best conditions for the upcoming fixtures.”

This decision also ends the player’s international gathering before its scheduled end in line with an agreement between the club and the national team. Mohamed Abdelmonem had already been absent during Egypt’s previous match against South Sudan, won 5-0. Often injured last season, the Gym’s central defender must be subject to very specific care protocols in order to avoid any setbacks.

Egypt also without Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Abdelmonem’s return to Nice comes during a gathering marked by another absence related to the playing surface. The Egyptian Federation announced that Mohamed Salah would not participate in the trip to South Sudan. “The technical staff of the Egyptian national team decided to give Mohamed Salah rest for the match against South Sudan due to the playing surface”, the Egyptian Federation stated on social media.

An agreement had been reached before the first qualifying match so that the striker would not participate in this second fixture. “It had been agreed between the technical staff of the national team and Mohamed Salah, before the match against Angola, that he would not play against South Sudan. The technical staff favored this approach in order to protect the player”, the Federation added.

For Mohamed Abdelmonem, the next stage will now take place with OGC Nice. The defender will rejoin the Nice squad after this stint with the Egyptian national team, with the objective of continuing his preparation without taking risks with his knee. As a reminder, the Eagles’ next fixture is scheduled for Sunday, October 11 at 3 p.m. against Strasbourg at the Allianz Riviera.