Ivory Coast’s Sebastien Haller out of AFCON, Evan Guessand drafted in

Ivory Coast have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations after Utrecht striker Sébastien Haller was ruled out of the tournament through injury, the federation confirmed on Friday. 

He then underwent medical checks this week to assess whether he could recover in time for the tournament, which begins on Sunday, but was ultimately deemed unfit. 

The 31-year-old has been replaced in the Elephants’ squad by Aston Villa forward Evan Guessand, one of the notable omissions from head coach Emerse Fae’s original selection. 

“Haller is out of the AFCON following an injury contracted on December 14 with Utrecht,” read a statement issued by the Ivorian Federation on Friday. “The FIF wish a swift recovery to our African champion, and send him all of our support.” 

Haller had come on as a 68th-minute substitute in Utrecht’s away match at NAC Breda, only to be forced off 13 minutes later in visible discomfort after hurting his hamstring. Since then, the former West Ham United striker had been receiving treatment at the Elephants’ training camp in Marbella, with officials delaying a final decision as long as possible. 

Guessand, his replacement, featured five times during last year’s qualification campaign without scoring and has made nine appearances for the national team this year. Despite that, he was a surprise exclusion from the initial squad. At club level, he has yet to make a big impact since joining Aston Villa from OGC Nice in August for an undisclosed fee and remains without a goal in 11 Premier League outings. 

Haller’s AFCON story last year was one of resilience, as injuries limited his involvement until the semifinal against the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his fortunate strike sent the hosts into the final and kept alive hopes of a third continental title. In the final against Nigeria at the Stade Alassane Ouattara near Abidjan, he scored the decisive 81st-minute winner after Frank Kessie’s header had cancelled out William Troost-Ekong’s opener. 

The striker was diagnosed with testicular cancer in July 2022, just two weeks after signing for Borussia Dortmund, and underwent two operations and chemotherapy before returning to training in January 2023. He made his debut for BVB later that month and marked it with a goal against Freiburg. 

Ivory Coast begin their Group F campaign against Mozambique in Marrakesh on Christmas Eve, before meeting Cameroon at the same venue four days later. They wrap up the group stage with a New Year’s Eve clash against Gabon, as the defending champions aim to reach the knockout rounds for a fourth straight tournament.