Ivorian hero Haller out of Cup of Nations tournament

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Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations - Final - Nigeria v Ivory Coast - Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara, Abidjan, Ivory Coast - February 11, 2024 Ivory Coasts Sebastien Haller celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Luc Gnago

RABAT, Dec 19 - Ivory Coasts Sebastien Haller, whose goals took the country to the title at the last Africa Cup of Nations, was on Friday ruled out of this months tournament in Morocco through injury.

The striker hurt his hamstring playing for Utrecht in the Dutch league at the weekend and had been undergoing treatment at the Ivorian training camp in Marbella, Spain this week.

But the Ivorian federation said 31-year-old Haller’s injury would keep him out and that they had called up forward Evann Guessand, 24, from Aston Villa in his place.

Haller played a dramatic, and poignant, role in Ivorian success two years ago, having recovered from cancer treatment to resume his career and then also shrug off an ankle injury at the start of the 2023 finals to return to the side in the knockout stages and score the winner in the semi-finals and final.

Ivory Coast kick off the defence of their title against Mozambique in Marrakech on Wednesday. REUTERS