DUBAI // Ibrahima Toure's future at Al Nasr appears uncertain after the striker failed to report for pre-season training this week.
The former Ajman forward from Senegal, who last season enjoyed a largely successful return to the Arabian Gulf League, was expected to join the rest of the squad at Al Maktoum Stadium, but he did not show.
The club say his whereabouts are unknown.
Toure, 28, arrived at Nasr last summer on a four-year contract, signing from Monaco on the back of a prolific season in which his goals helped the French side gain promotion to Ligue 1.
He continued his form for Nasr last term, scoring 19 times in 26 matches as Ivan Jovanovic's men finished fifth in the standings.
Toure had previously excelled at Ajman, netting 14 goals in 16 appearances during a six-month loan in 2011.
He was supposed to return to training this week alongside Leo Lima, the Brazilian midfielder, as Nasr begin preparations for next season. However, Toure was not present on Tuesday night and has not provided any reason for his absence.
“Ibrahima has not yet come. We don’t know why. We have no idea,” Nasr team manager Khalid Obaid said. “Lima already started with us, but Toure, we don’t know where he is.
“We’ve tried to contact him, but I don’t want to talk about his situation until he comes back. It’s strange, a professional player with this mentality.”
Nasr state they have yet to have any official offers for Toure, although he is rumoured to be attracting interest from clubs in Turkey.
It is unclear whether Nasr want to retain him, but his capture last summer represented a considerable coup. Negotiations had been protracted.
“We have to see what’s wrong with Ibrahima, because he has three years on his contract and we paid a lot of money for him,” Obaid said. “So we cannot release his contract just because the club want to release it. We have to look for a solution.”
Lima’s situation is open to question, too, with the deep-lying playmaker recently linked with a transfer back to Brazil or to Qatar.
Houssine Kharja, the Moroccan midfielder at Qatar’s Al Arabi, has been touted as a replacement.
Asked about the chances of Lima remaining with Nasr, Obaid said: “I can’t say now. We’ll wait to see this coming week and then we’ll decide. Lima has a contract with us for another year, so we have to see how he is in training.
“For now, we haven’t thought about these two foreign players. We’re not in a hurry to release their contracts. They’re still training with us and at the moment they continue with us.”
Nasr's other expatriates are Brett Holman, the Australian forward, and Ivan Trickovski, the Macedonian striker signed last week.
Eder Luis, the Brazilian, is out until the end of the year with a knee injury.
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
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Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
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1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix - 3:45:47
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10. Fausto Masnada (ITA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
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