The former PAOK Saloniki man was sternly criticized by local media of late for allegedly feigning injury to skip the Pharaohs' 3-0 friendly win over Australia at Cairo Stadium.

Shika did little to dampen speculation when he featured in Zamalek's 1-0 league victory over Masri, just four days after the Australia meeting.

However, Egypt assistant coach Ahmed Sedki stressed that Shikabala's omission from Thursday's game with Qatar was not based on previous events, saying it was only for 'technical reasons'.

Shikabala also faced accusation of lack of commitment from Shehata when another apparent injury ruled him out of the Egypt's opening African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone in September.

Moreover, the highly-successful tactician once hit out at the 24-year-old for 'being too passive when losing the ball'.

Egypt's squad:

Goalkeepers: Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed – Amir Abdul-Hamid – Mohamed Sobhi.

Defenders: Wael Gomaa – Mahmoud Fathallah – Ahmed Dweidar – Mohamed Naguib – Sherif Abdul-Fadil – Mohamed Abdul-Shafi – Ahmed Samir Farag.

Midfielders: Ahmed Fathi – Amr Al-Sulaya – Islam Awad – Ibrahim Salah – Mohamed Abou-Treika – Walid Soliman – Ayman Hefni.

Strikers: Ahmed Eid – Ahmed Abdul-Zaher – Geddo – Ahmed Mekki.