Egypt to give Salah until last minute to prove fitness for Socceroos clash

Egypt will give captain Mohamed Salah until the last moment to prove his fitness to face Australia tomorrow as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

Salah trained with the squad on Wednesday and Thursday, local time, but will not be rushed into the team if he is not fit.

"We tried to introduce him to partial team training from yesterday," Egypt coach Hossam Hasan said at his pre-match press conference.

"Salah is a passionate player. I won’t run any risk unless he is 100 per cent fit to play tomorrow."

Salah's fitness has been under a cloud after he asked to be substituted during Egypt's 1-1 draw with Iran in their final group-stage game.

The Egyptian Football Association confirmed he had a hamstring strain and would be assessed.

On Wednesday, a post on social media by the Egypt national team suggested Salah would be fit to play against the Socceroos.

How much involvement he will have in the game will be decided late this morning.

"I would love for everyone to be fit," Hassan said.

"I am planning to have him for the match, whether in the starting lineup or at a later stage."

If Salah isn't fit, the attacking responsibility will largely fall to Manchester City's Omar Marmoush.

The striker was mostly used off the bench in the Premier League, making just eight starts in 21 appearances for City.

In this World Cup, he has only managed 90 minutes once, and that was in Egypt's opening game against Belgium. He is yet to score or assist a goal.

Height differences 'no concern' for Egypt

In his press conference, Hassan was asked whether he was concerned about the height difference between Australia and Egypt, and how he planned to combat it.

"It’s not about being tall or short," he said.

"We have physical players, jumping players.

"We’ll be fine. We’re not playing rugby here, we’re playing football, not American football."

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