Dubai: Omar Abdulrahman has been included by new United Arab Emirates head coach Bert van Marwijk for a training camp in Austria.
The Al Hilal star has not played since last October following knee surgery which saw him also miss out on the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
Abdulrahman, however, resumed training earlier this month and Van Marwijk - who was appointed in March - decided on including him in the 27-man squad after being briefed on his progress by Al Hilal.
The 2016 AFC Player of the Year is the only player from outside the UAE Pro League called up by Van Marwijk for the training camp in Salzburg on July 13-22.
Al Wahda players, however, have been left out as they will be allowed to concentrate on the 2019 AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie against either Zobahan of the Islamic Republic of Iran or Al Nassr on August 5 and 12.
UAE NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD �? pic.twitter.com/StSwVNRBvg
— UAEFA (@uaefa_ae) May 25, 2019
The training camp is the UAE's first step towards qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, with the second round of the Qualifiers kicking off in September. The draw is scheduled for July 17.
UAE have qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, when they appeared in the 1990 edition in Italy.
UAE OLYMPIC TEAM SQUAD �? pic.twitter.com/CGfVlczNvQ
— UAEFA (@uaefa_ae) May 25, 2019
Former Netherlands and Saudi Arabia head coach van Marwijk will also keep an eye on the UAE U-23 squad during the Austria training camp.
The U-23 squad are preparing for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship Thailand, which will serve as the Qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Photo: AFP
Source: the-afc.com