Injury blow for Percy Tau ahead of Al Ahly’s Club World Cup game

Percy Tau has been ruled out of the Fifa Club World Cup and is in danger of missing Bafana Bafana’s friendly international against France in March, his Egyptian club Al Ahly confirmed.

Tau was injured in the 3-0 Egyptian League Cup defeat to Smouha on Thursday, where he was the star name in an otherwise second-string Ahly side with the majority of their players at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.

Ahly officials have confirmed that Tau faces at least four weeks on the sidelines with a muscle injury. Should it be longer than that, it will leave him in a race against time for Bafana’s high-profile friendly against the world champions.

“Osama Moustafa, the youth team’s doctor, said Al Ahly forward Percy Tau suffered an anterior muscle injury,” the club said in a statement after the Smouha defeat. “Moustafa added that Tau will be sidelined for four weeks, and he will perform a rehabilitation programme to fully recover from his injury.”

Tau was replaced in the game on 69 minutes and appeared to be in discomfort. It is a further blow for the player, who had only just returned from a Covid-19 absence, while for Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane it is a huge loss.

If Egypt advanced past Morocco in their Cup of Nations quarterfinal in Sunday’s late match, he will be without his leading players as they prepare to play Mexican side Monterrey in their Club World Cup second round clash on Saturday.

It would be a heavy blow and leave the team facing an uphill battle to win that tie. The loss of Tau further worsens that.

Fifa inexplicably scheduled the Club World Cup to overlap with the Cup of Nations, something that would have been unheard of were it the European or South American championships. It can be viewed as a huge show of disrespect for the major continental finals and has created all sorts of problems for Ahly in particular.  

Bafana take on France in the Fifa International window that runs from March 21-30. Tau should be back for that if his treatment goes according to plan and he shows no adverse effects on his return.