Ivory Coast’s Sebastien Haller has been ruled out for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations with a hamstring injury, the Ivorian football federation confirmed on Friday.
The 31-year-old striker hurt his hamstring in last weekend’s Eredivisie game with FC Utrecht against NAC Breda. Haller joined the Ivorian camp in Marbella, Spain, regardless, undergoing treatment during his stay there.
The experienced Haller did not recover in time for the tournament, however, and was dropped from the squad on Friday, the FIF confirmed. Aston Villa‘s Evann Guessand replaces Haller in the 26-man squad.
Sebastien Haller missed the start of the 2023 AFCON with an ankle injury, but returned in the knockout stages before scoring the winning goals in both the semi-final and the final.
Ivory Coast kick off their title defence next Wednesday against Mozambique.
