Sebastien Haller ruled out of AFCON with injury
Cote d'Ivoire's Sebastien Haller, whose goals took his nation to the title at the previous Africa Cup of Nations, has been ruled out of this month's tournament in Morocco through injury.
The striker hurt his hamstring playing for Utrecht in the Dutch league at the weekend and had been undergoing treatment at the Elephants' training camp in Marbella, Spain this week.
But the Cote d'Ivoire federation said 31-year-old Haller’s injury would keep him out and that it had called up forward Evann Guessand, 24, from Aston Villa in his place.
Haller played a dramatic, and poignant, role in his nation's success two years ago, having recovered from cancer treatment to resume his career and then also shrug off an ankle injury at the start of the 2023 finals to return to the side in the knockout stages and score the winner in the semi-finals and final.
Cote d'Ivoire kicks off the defence of its title against Mozambique in Marrakech on Thursda (AEDT).
