The 26-year-old has been sidelined since April, when he suffered a knee ligament damage while playing for Saudi giants Ittihad, the club whom he joined on a year-long loan last term.

He was set to make his return over a fortnight ago, but the coaching staff preferred to keep him out of action for a while further to avoid a possible relapse.

"The talks over Meteb's new contract has been delayed till he gets back in action," football director Hadi Kashaba told Ahli's official website.

Recent media reports suggested that Meteb wasn't satisfied with the proposed offer, and called for EGP eight million for his extension.

However, Kashaba played down these allegations by saying: "This is so untrue, it's just a baseless rumor."

Ahli have recently revealed their intention of renewing the contracts of quintuple Meteb, Ahmed Belal, Mohamed Barakat, Moataz Eno and Ahmed Al-Sayed.