Influential midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye will return from injury for Senegal when they take on Kenya on Monday in their last group game at the Africa Cup of Nations but they have been hit with more injury blows, coach Aliou Cisse said on Sunday.
Gueye missed the 1-0 loss to Algeria in Group C on Thursday, along with Salif Sane and Ismaila Sarr, with Cisse listing their absence among the reasons for the defeat.
Sarr is also back in contention but Sane remains out after suffering an ankle injury in the team's first game of the tournament, when they beat Tanzania last Sunday.
He is joined on the treatment table by midfielder Alfred Ndiaye and defender Youssouf Sabaly, both hurt in the game against Algeria.
Ndiaye has a knee injury and Sabaly hurt his heel.
Kenya and Senegal go into Monday’s game at Cairo’s 30 June Stadium with three points from their opening two games and looking for a place in the top two to ensure qualification, although the four best third-placed finishers also advance to the last 16.
Cisse again bemoaned the nature of his side’s defeat against Algeria as they struggled with the pressing game of their opponents but said they were still worthy of a draw in one of the more exciting encounters at the tournament.
“A point each would have been a fairer reflection of the game,” he said after watching the match “three or four times over again”.
“I have a much more precise idea about what we are capable of but we will not be looking for a revolutionary approach against Kenya, just attacking to make sure we win,” he told reporters.
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