Ali Ahmed's Injury Scare Before World Cup
Ali Ahmed has admitted he immediately feared missing the World Cup after picking up a hamstring injury in the Canaries season finale.
The Canadian winger pulled up shortly before half-time in the 2-1 defeat to Hull City at the MKM Stadium and was replaced at the interval. Philippe Clement later confirmed post-match that scans were required on a left hamstring issue.
Recovery Timeline and International Squad
With Canada boss Jesse Marsch preparing to name his 26-man squad on Friday, Ahmed's recovery timeline had been uncertain until earlier this week.
However, confirmation he had linked up in Charlotte with his international teammates was followed by Marsch's admission that the former Vancouver man was ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Ahmed's Hope for Upcoming Friendlies
As preparations step up ahead of the host nation's tournament opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada are set for friendlies against Uzbekistan and Ireland, with Ahmed hopeful of featuring in the latter.
"I think for the first friendly, I'm not sure; I don't think I'll be ready to play that," Ahmed outlined, speaking to OneSoccer.
"But I think the hope is to be back for the second friendly and get some minutes. Hopefully, if things continue the way they are, that's the aim right now."
The 25-year-old has suffered only a handful of injuries in his career to date and says this is his first experience of a hamstring problem.
"Never. First time I've ever had anything in my hamstring, so it was something new," he continued.
"I don't think it should be a problem going forward. Obviously, being a bit leaner maybe helps and benefits me a little bit more, so no more problems there."
Ahmed has 24 caps for Canada and is looking to add to that tally next month, but he feared the opportunity might have been taken from him when he went down in East Yorkshire.
"When I went down in the game, for sure. I'm going to be honest; that's definitely one of the first things that comes to your mind," admitted Ahmed.
"You hope it's nothing serious that will hurt my chances of performing at the highest level I can over here, so it was definitely one of the first things that came into my head. But luckily, like I said, it wasn't too serious." The Pink'un