Abu Dhabi: Mohammad Fayez, the Al Ain midfielder, has been drafted into the UAE squad ahead of Tuesday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier with Australia following an injury to Abdul Aziz Sanquor.
The Al Ahli man suffered an unspecified ailment during Thursday’s 2-1 away win in Japan, the Group B opener.
The Whites trained for the first time since their arrival back in the UAE at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. They were due to train again at Al Jazira’s Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, the venue for Tuesday’s encounter, on Sunday evening.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, will hold his pre-match press conference at 11.30am on Monday.
Like his Australian counterparts, Ali and his staff have been striving to ensure that the UAE are in prime shape for the game given the short turnaround after Japan.
Players have been given fluids to rehydrate, specific timings to sleep and thus combat the jet-lag that affected them in Tokyo, as well as special exercises in the swimming pool and stints in ice baths to soothe aching limbs.
