Zaki back for Egypt against Niger

Shehata named an 18-man squad for the away fixture, excluding Ahli players who face Esperance in the Champions League semi-final on Sunday.

Zaki controversially missed out on Egypt's opening qualifier against Sierra Leone last month, forcing Shehata to point finger at him in the process.

But the Egypt boss seems to have patched things up with the 27-year-old, who has been a first-choice striker for Shehata during the past few years.

There was no place, however, for Zaki's Zamalek teammate Shikabala, who was also blasted by Shehata ahead of the Sierra Leone draw.

Harras Hodoud star Ahmed Eid returned to the squad, despite being on a four-match domestic suspension, so did Zamalek's Hani Saied.

ENPPI defender Mohamed Nassef earned his first international call-up, amid the absence of first-choice left-back Sayed Moawad due to injury.

Ahli players are expected to complete the list on Monday.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Essam Al-Hadari, Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed (Zamalek), Mohamed Sobhi (Ismaili)

Defenders: Hani Saied, Mahmoud Fathallah, Mohamed Abdul-Shafi (Zamalek), Moatasem Salem (Ismaili), Mohamed Naguib (Police Union), Mohamed Nassef (ENPPI)

Midfielders: Amr Al-Sulaya, Ahmed Khairi (Ismaili), Walid Soliman (ENPPI), Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland), Ahmed Eid (Harras Hodoud)

Strikers: Amr Zaki (Zamalek), Ahmed Abdul-Zaher (ENPPI), Ahmed Ali (Ismaili), Ahmed Mekki (Harras Hodoud)