Leeds United promotion rivals handed major boost as skipper rejects international call-up

Leeds United's Championship rivals Ipswich will now have experienced midfielder and club captain Morsy available to them throughout January after the 32-year-old reportedly informed the Egyptian FA he intends to remain in the United Kingdom during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Morsy appeared for his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and more recently earned a recall to the Egyptian setup in September but supposedly has no intention of playing a peripheral role at next month's tournament in the Ivory Coast, per the East Anglian Daily Times.

The ex-Wigan Athletic man was named in Egypt's provisional 55-man squad for the tournament but had not been called up to the full squad during either of October or November's international breaks.

"Of course, it is a bit more difficult planning, and it would be better if we knew, but that is just the way it is," Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna said prior to Morsy's withdrawal from the selection process. "We will try to prepare for both eventualities," he added.

Morsy is unavailable for this Friday's Championship fixture against Queens Park Rangers after accepting an FA charge for acting 'in an improper manner and/or using abusive words and/or behaviour towards a match official in or around the changing rooms following the completion of the fixture [vs Middlesbrough].'

The Ipswich skipper is also one yellow card away from a two-match suspension after accruing nine bookings so far this term. Morsy has started each of Ipswich's league games this season, except for their 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town when he served a one-match suspension for five yellow cards.

Morsy's teammates Cameron Burgess (Australia) and Elkan Baggott (Indonesia) are however set to join up with their respective nations after being named in their final squads. Leeds have no players in their squad who will be leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, or AFC Asian Cup which also takes place in January.