Soccer-UAE's Abdulrahman pulls out of Australia, Uzbek matches

DUBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Playmaker Omar Abdulrahman has pulled out of the United Arab Emirates squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Australia and Uzbekistan to rest a troublesome knee injury. The 23-year-old suffered the problem playing for his club Al Ain a fortnight ago but made it worse by completing 90 minutes in the Champions League semi-final exit to Al Hilal last week. He missed the 4-3 win over Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League on Sunday with his club coach Zlatko Dalic requesting that the country's best talent be allowed to rest in order to recover properly. The skilful, shaggy-haired Abdulrahman was called up to the squad for Friday's home match with Asian Cup hosts Australia and the following Tuesday's fixture against fellow qualifiers Uzbekistan but has instead gone to Spain to see specialists. "Omar travelled with his brother Khaled to Barcelona this morning (Monday)," Al Ain team supervisor Mohammed Obeid Hammad was quoted as saying by Emirati daily Sports 360. "He will undergo treatment and an assessment by a specialist there, and we will talk to them again in a few days about the problem. We expect Omar will be ready to play again in seven to 10 days. "We have sent a letter to the UAE FA explaining the situation, and they understand perfectly." The Uzbek and Australia matches are the final preparation games for the UAE before they take part in next month's Gulf Cup of Nations in Saudi Arabia. They will then face Jordan and Kuwait before the Asian Cup in January where they have been drawn in Group C alongside West Asian rivals Iran, Qatar and Bahrain. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Ian Ransom)