Grant wants injured players replaced
Avram Grant has sent an open letter to the Confederation of African Football to permit Egypt to replace two of their three goalkeepers who have sustained injuries in the course of the AFCON.
Advertisement
The Pharaohs of Egypt are left with Essam El Hadary, the 44-year-old as the only fit goalkeeper, following injuries to Ahmed El Shenawy and Sherif Ekramy.
The participating nations in the 2017 AFCON have blamed the poor nature of pitches for the several injuries in the Africa Cup of Nations.
And Avram Grant, whose left back Baba Rahman, is among the players who have been ruled out of the tournament for similar fate, has called on CAF to permit Egypt to replace their injured goalkeepers
"We need to give the players the best platforms for them to perform well. People are putting in a lot of efforts but a lot more must be done.
"So far, four or five players have received injuries due to the pitch and so, the tournament organisers need to relax the rules and allow teams to replace the injured players.
"I know people may not like what I say, but Egypt have lost two goalkeepers because of the pitch.
"They need to have those players replaced. I think it is unfair to have them play without those two players. They need to bring in other goalkpeers. It is unfair and unsportsmanlike."
Meanwhile, Rahman looks set to return to his mother club, Chelsea, for treatment for the injury he picked while on international duty with Ghana at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon.
Rahman got injured during Ghana’s open game against Uganda last Tuesday and was ruled out from the rest of the competition as initial medical tests showed his injury would keep him off for about six weeks.
He was thus sent back to Schalke, the German side he plays for on loan but GHANAsoccernet.com sources say he will return to his parent club, Chelsea, for further assessment.
He is expected to remain there once the extent of injury is determined through further tests.