Ben Sahar was a surprise omission when Israel named a 26-man squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers at home to Croatia on October 9 and away to Greece on October 12.
The Hapoel Tel Aviv striker failed to impress manager Luis Fernandez last month and was substituted in Israel’s first two matches.
Yossi Benayoun is named in the squad but it remains to be seen whether or not the Chelsea midfielder will be fit. He is currently undergoing the controversial placenta treatment in Serbia for a calf muscle injury. Chelsea club doctor Bryan English, who is accompanying Benayoun, will decide if the player can stay in Israel to train with the national team or return to England for more treatment over the coming days.
Elyaniv Barda is likely to replace Sahar. The Genk striker had been in poor form but last weekend he came on as a late substitute and scored a brace in the Belgian side's 3-0 win over Zulte Waregem.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Roberto Colautti and Hapoel's Itay Shechter also hope to start. Avihai Yadin, another Hapoel player, has also been left out of the squad following the champions’ poor league form this season.
Fernandez also has some surprise inclusions including young striker Elroy Cohen, who has helped Hapoel Kiryat Shmona climb to the top of Ligat Ha'Al.
The Israeli manager has kept faith with Tamir Cohen even though he has yet to make a league appearance for Bolton Wanderers this season.
Israel squad:
Goalkeepers: Dudu Awat (Real Mallorca), Ariel Harush (Betar Jerusalem), Ohad Levita (Waalwijk).
Defenders: Dekel Keinan (Blackpool), Dani Bondarv (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Dedi Ben Dayan (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Tal Ben Haim (West Ham), Yoav Ziv (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Rami Gershon (Kortrijk), Oshri Roash (Hapoel Haifa).
Midfielders: Tamir Cohen (Bolton), Almog Cohen (Nuremberg), Beram Kayal (Celtic), Bibras Natcho (Ruben Kazan), Lior Rafaelov (Maccabi Haifa), Gili Vermouth (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Eran Zahavi (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Eyal Golasa (Maccabi Haifa), Yossi Benayoun (capt.) (Chelsea), Dor Malul (Maccabi Haifa).
Strikers: Amit Ben Shoshan (Betar Jerusalem), Itay Shechter (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Elyaniv Barda (Racing Genk), Omer Damari (Maccabi Petach Tikva), Elroy Cohen (Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, Roberto Colautti (Maccabi Tel Aviv).
To get more from Life, click here to sign up for our free Life newsletter.