Guinea dealt major blow as Serhou Guirassy ruled out of Eritrea ties

Guinea will be without Serhou Guirassy for both of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Eritrea after the Borussia Dortmund striker was ruled out with a thigh injury.

Guirassy underwent medical tests on Thursday which confirmed the problem. He is expected to be unavailable for between four and six weeks, forcing him to withdraw from Paulo Duarte’s squad.

The striker’s absence is a significant setback for both Borussia Dortmund and the Guinea national team. Guirassy is the Syli National’s main attacking threat and scored the only goal in their 1-0 victory over Kenya during the previous international window.

His withdrawal is Guinea’s third ahead of the double-header, leaving Duarte with fewer options at a crucial stage of the qualifying campaign.

FC Nantes defender Saidou Sow, one of the more established members of the squad, has also pulled out after suffering a knee injury. He has been replaced by Ousmane Conde, an attacker who plays for Karvina in the Czech Republic.

Goalkeeper Soumaila Sylla is the third player to become unavailable. He had been recalled by Duarte despite leaving the squad for unexplained reasons after Guinea’s match against South Africa. The Federation Guineenne de Football has not given details of the goalkeeper’s absence.

Sekou Salifou Sylla of Horoya AC has been called up as his replacement.

Guinea under pressure in qualifying group

The withdrawals come at a particularly difficult moment for Guinea, who have little margin for error in a group with an unusual qualifying structure.

Kenya already have their place secured as hosts, leaving Guinea, South Africa and Eritrea competing for the one remaining qualification spot.

Eritrea appear to be the most manageable opponents on paper, but Guinea are already under pressure after losing to South Africa. They cannot afford to drop points in either match against Eritrea if they are to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Two victories are therefore considered essential before the next phase of the campaign. Success would also allow Guinea to prepare for a possible decisive meeting with Bafana Bafana at home.

Duarte will at least be able to welcome back the experience of Amadou Diawara and Mouctar Diakhaby, who are returning to the national team.

However, without their leading match-winner, the Guinea manager must find alternative attacking solutions. Guirassy’s absence leaves the Syli National facing a more difficult challenge than anticipated before the Eritrea fixtures.