Ahly defender Rami Rabia has been given the green light to join Egypt’s squad for the 2013 U-20 World Cup in Turkey. He has recovered from a knee injury he picked up during an Egyptian Premier League game two months ago.
“Rabia will take part in training with the national team during the coming days after recovering from injury,” Egypt U-20 national team director Taha El-Sayed was quoted as saying on the Egyptian Football Association website on Thursday.
The 20-year-old defender, who played a key role in helping Egypt win the U-20 African Championship in March, was facing a race against time to be fit for the tournament.
“The defender has fully recovered from the injury and he is fit for the World Cup in Turkey,” he added.
The Young Pharaohs held a training camp in Switzerland in preparation for the World Cup. In recent friendlies they drew 2-2 with Romania before losing 3-1 to Montenegro and 1-0 to Brazil. They later beat Kosovo 8-0 and New Zealand 2-1.
“Egypt U-20 national team are now in the pole position to start their World Cup campaign,” the team director concluded.
Egypt will launch their World Cup campaign on 23 June. They have been paired with Chile, England and Iraq in Group E.
