Too Bad! The Talented players that could miss AFCON 2019 Due to Injuries

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To miss playing for your country is one thing but to miss due to injuries is way too much for the player and also for the fans. Getting injured right before a player is called for International duty is more than just a disappointment. The African Cup of Nations will soon kick off and countries like Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa could miss miss some of their key players who were injured while on club duty.

Here are some of the players likely to miss out of AFCON 2019:

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita’s recovery from a thigh problem is ahead of schedule but he is unlikely to be fit enough to feature in the Champions League final.

The Guinea international could, however, be back in time for the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on June 21.

Keita tore an adductor muscle in the 3-0 semi-final first leg defeat in Barcelona and the initial prognosis was a two-month absence.

But having responded well to treatment the midfielder, who is out in Marbella with the rest of the squad preparing for the June 1 clash with Tottenham in Madrid, has now returned to running.

“Naby is, I would say, a bit ahead of schedule, but that doesn’t mean anything for the final,” manager Jurgen Klopp told liverpoolfc.com.

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Another player on the list is Ghana international midfielder, Alfred Duncan.Duncan had officially been ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury he sustained two months ago.

Duncan has been carrying the injury since the beginning of the year and has been playing through the pain barrier for the last 4 weeks.

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The 26-year-old brought the injury to his last national team assignment against Kenya and Mauritania in March and Sat out 3 weeks of action on his return to Italy.

Kwesi Appiah has known of Duncan’s injury situation all along and has constantly maintained contact with the player throughout this period.

It is understood Sassuolo doctors have decided the former Inter Milan youth star needs time to treat the injury to prevent further aggravation.

A decision on whether he will require surgery will be taken after Sassuolo’s last match of the season against Atalanta on Sunday.

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South Africa’s forward Percy Tau picked up a knee injury for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise but it appears he will be fit to play in the AFCON 2019.

Tau is expected to be a major weapon in coach Stuart Baxter’s attack for the tournament in Egypt and news of his injury may come as a worry for the Englishman.

The player limped off after scoring his 12th and 13th goals for his second-tier side in a 3-3 draw with Royal Excel Mouscron.

Tau – who recently won the Proximus Player of the Season crown in Belgium – has yet to learn the full extent of his injury.

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Speaking to Walfoot.be, he said: “It’s a shame that I could not finish the game, a player fell on my knee and it was better to take no chances.

“We’ll see after the exams, but you know, I do not have to think about the African Cup playing, I can hurt myself in training anytime.”

The website did also explain that the forward was walking without any difficulty which may come as good news for Baxter and the national team.

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Kenneth Omeruo is expected to fit for Nigeria’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations preparation despite picking up an injury in his Spanish club, Leganes LaLiga clash against Huesca on Saturday, Completesports.com reports.

Omeruo, who is loan at Leganes from English Premier League club Chelsea was replaced by Ezequeil Munoz in the 53rd minute of the encounter as a result of the injury.

There were concerns that the versatile defender who has enjoyed a fine season for Manuel Pellegrino’s men could miss out on a place in Nigeria’s squad for AFCON 2019 but he has come out calm frayed nerves on his fitness.

 

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