Egypt coach Bob Bradley quashed rumors about Emad Meteb’s recent ear injury, insisting that the Ahli striker did not turn his back on the national team.

Meteb, who played no part in the World Cup qualifying win over Mozambique, has been ruled out of the game in Guinea with an ear infection.

It has been suggested though that the 29-year-old was angry after spending the whole 90 minutes of the Mozambique game on the bench, but Bradley refuted the allegations.

“Meteb has been complaining from his ear before the Mozambique match, that’s why he didn’t start,” Bradley told a press conference.

“After the game he went to see a specialist and presented a report that he cannot play, so we excluded him from the Guinea squad.”

Zamalek striker Amr Zaki also cited an ear problem as the reason behind his failure to join the Egypt squad for a camp in the UAE back in April as he hasn’t been recalled ever since.

Finishing

Speaking about his team’s performance against Mozambique, Bradley highlighted a couple of technical issues that he hopes to improve before the Guinea trip.

“First of all, we need better finishing to the chances we had,” the American tactician added.

“Players also need to move better without the ball, although (Mohamed) Abou-Treika and (Mohamed) Salah are usually good at that point.”