Abou-Mosallem was voted Strasbourg player of the year in a poll conducted by the club official website and a few days later he was forced to rest.

"First I didn’t believe it. I saw the news on FilGoal.com and then the coach told me about the prize," said the Egypt international on a phone call.

"It is hard to believe that I beat French players in such a poll. Usually it goes to strikers or playmakers but to win it such a left back, I think it’s a great achievement."

"I became a regular starter during the past weeks and even coach Jean Pierre Papin praised me a lot. Unfortunately I got injured the next match (hamstring) and I’ll have to rest for five weeks, almost until the end of the season. What a hard luck," said Abou-Mosallam.

The 26 year old winger wanted to be at the support of his team-mates who are battling to get back to the first division.

Strasbourg are currently third of the Ligue 2 and hope to maintain their performance until the end of the season.