FILE - Algeria's midfielder Houssem Aouar
Algeria have been dealt a blow to their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign after key midfielder Houssem Aouar was ruled out of the tournament through injury on Friday.
According to reports, the 27-year-old sustained the injury during Thursday's training session and will miss the entire tournament in Morocco.
Himad Abdelli, of French club Angers, has been called up as a replacement for Aouar in the squad, though no specific details regarding the nature or severity of Aouar's injury were provided.
Aouar, who earned a single cap for France before switching allegiance to Algeria, featured at the 2023 Cote d'Ivoire tournament, where the Desert Warriors were knocked out early from the group stage.
The Saudi Al-Ittihad midfielder Aouar has scored 5 goals during his 17 games for the national team.
The replacement choice raises eyebrows as Abdelli, a 26-year-old French-born player with four international caps for Algeria, was surprisingly omitted from the initial 28-man squad announced last week.
Algeria will kick off their Group E campaign against Sudan on Wednesday, before facing Burkina Faso on 28 December and conclude the group stage participation against Equatorial Guinea three days later.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: