Adam El-Abd is ready to come home after his hopes of a World Cup debut for Egypt were dashed by red tape.

The Albion defender was last night being ruled out of the qualifier against Mozambique in Alexandria on Friday due to a delay in processing his Egyptian passport.

Staff with the national squad believe he might have to wait several weeks for a passport.

That would also rule him out of a World Cup qualifier in Guinea and home and away fixtures versus the Central African Republic as part of the qualifying procedure for the African Cup Of Nations.

The last of those games does not take place until June 30.

Pharaohs coach Bob Bradley revealed the potential administrative hitch to The Argus on Monday.

He confirmed he would allow El-Abd home if it appeared paperwork was unlikely to be sorted quickly.

The Seagulls star is keen to get home to his family and rest ahead of the new Championship campaign if there is no prospect of playing for Egypt.

He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of Bob Bradley, the coaching staff and all the players.

“I’ve really enjoyed being part of the set-up and I hope to be involved again. It’s just a shame administrative issues out of my control have stopped me fighting for my place in the squad for the forthcoming games.”

El-Abd, who was born in Brighton and has an Egyptian father, can console himself that he now has a foot in the door of the national squad.

Bradley, who had never seen him play live, said: “He’s a solid defender, he’s a good worker and he has got a very good mentality.”

El-Abd made his international debut as a half-time substitute in the 2-1 win over Cameroon ten days ago.