Edmond Tapsoba leaves Germany to link up with Burkina Faso teammates ahead of AFCON 2025

Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba has departed Germany to join Burkina Faso’s national team camp in Morocco, ruling him out of his club’s Bundesliga top-of-the-table clash against RB Leipzig scheduled for Saturday, December 20.

The Stallions centre-back had been expected to feature in the high-profile Matchday 15 encounter, with Leverkusen keen to keep him for the crucial fixture.

Tapsoba has been a key figure for the German side this season, contributing three goals and two assists while delivering a series of assured defensive performances that have earned him the confidence of head coach Kasper Hjulmand.

Since the start of the campaign, the Burkinabe international has featured in every Bundesliga match for Leverkusen, underlining his importance to the team.

However, unlike Cameroonian defender Christian Kofane, Tapsoba will miss the Leipzig showdown despite reports of an agreement that could have kept him available.

Currently fourth on the league table and trailing Leipzig by three points, Leverkusen are targeting a move into second place with a positive result in the fixture.

Tapsoba’s focus now shifts to international duty as Burkina Faso begin their Africa Cup of Nations campaign later in the month.

The Stallions are set to open their group-stage matches on December 24 against Equatorial Guinea, before facing Algeria four days later and concluding the group phase with a fixture against Sudan.