UAE coach Mahdi Ali received a boost ahead of the Gulf Cup of Nations as his full 23-man squad reported for duty in Dubai on Friday night, including captain Ismail Matar.
The Al Wahda forward has been restricted to just seven Pro League games this season due to a persistent knee injury that has plagued him since the London Olympics.
The problem forced Matar to seek treatment in Germany last month, while the 28-year-old has also undergone injections to help him play.
Matar made his first start since November 18 in Wahda’s 4-1 President’s Cup win over Al Shaab on Wednesday but was forced off at half-time after falling awkwardly.
Any fears that might force the talismanic forward out of Mahdi’s plans were allayed though as Matar joined club-mates Hamdan Al Kamali and Saeed Al Kathiri at the UAE’s base in Dubai.
And it is understood that he will be fit to play in the Whites’ first warm-up match against Yemen in Doha on December 25.
The UAE met up at the Al Bustan Rotana on Friday night and will set off for their training camp in Doha on Saturday, where they will face Tajikistan four days after their date with Yemen.
The UAE are among the favourites to lift the Gulf Cup of Nations which kicks off in Bahrain on January 5, with the Whites playing Qatar. Mahdi’s men then face the hosts three days later, before finishing their Group A campaign against Oman.
UAE Gulf Cup of Nations squad:
Abdulaziz Haikal, Abdulaziz Sanqoor, Ismail Al Hamadi, Ahmed Khalil, Majid Hassan (Al Ahli), Mohammed Fawzi, Amer Abdulrahman, Haboush Saleh (Bani Yas), Ali Khaseif, Khalid Essa, Ali Al Amri, Abdulla Mousa, Khamis Esmail, Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira), Waleed Abbas (Al Shabab), Mohammed Ahmed, Dawood Sulaiman, Mohanad Salem, Omer Abdulrahman, (Al Ain), Habib Al Fardan (Al Nasr), Hamdan Al Kamali, Saeed Al Kathiri, Ismail Matar (Al Wahda).
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