Injury blow for Bafana Bafana, Eagles of Mali ahead AFCON

With barely 17 days to the kickoff of the Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa and Mali have received injury blows. South Africa’s Keagan Dolly suffered a groin injury on the eve of his team’s COSAFA Cup clash with Botswana, and he has now been ruled out of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.

The 26-year-old was set to feature for the South African side in their 5-4 penalty shoot-out defeat to Botswana in Durban on Sunday. However, he had had to withdraw due to a groin injury picked up in training.

According to the medical team, Dolly has no chance of recovering in time for the continental tournament, which will be played in Egypt later this month.

“He is completely out of the Afcon. There is no chance that his groin injury will recover in time,” said Bafana’s team doctor Thulani Ngwenya in a statement.

South African coach Stuart Baxter has not yet named a replacement for Dolly, with the now 29-man training squad set to be cut to 23 by the 11th of June.

According to the medical team, all the players will undergo mandatory pre-competition medical assessment for the AFCON tournament. This PCMA includes a blood test, an echocardiogram, and musculoskeletal examination.

Baxter and assistant coaches Molefi Ntseki and Andre Arendse took the group through a training session in hot conditions, while player liaison Mark Fish was also in attendance.

Similarly, Malian coach, Mohammed Magassouba confirmed that Brighton & Hove Albion and Mali midfielder Yves Bissouma would miss the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt after a shoulder injury.

Brighton communicated that Yves Bissouma will be undergoing surgery on the troublesome shoulder and Mali coach Mohamed Magassouba has revealed the midfielder will miss the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations due to his fractured shoulder.