Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers: Osimhen and Baleba among November absentees

The third and fourth rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers will be played without several key African internationals, with club injuries ruling out players including Victor Osimhen, Serhou Guirassy and Carlos Baleba.

Nigeria will be without Galatasaray striker Osimhen after he injured his left knee and required surgery. His absence is a major blow as the former Africa Cup of Nations finalists continue their qualifying campaign.

Guinea have also suffered a series of setbacks before their two matches against Eritrea. Coach Paulo Duarte will be without Guirassy, Saidou Sow, Soumaila Sylla and Lamine Diaby-Fadiga, leaving him with fewer options for the two fixtures.

Senegal will face Sudan without Mamadou Sarr and Krepin Diatta. Algeria, meanwhile, cannot call on Jaouen Hadjam or Mohamed Bachir Belloumi for their double-header against Togo.

Hadjam impressed during the previous international camp but is unavailable this time. Togo have injury problems of their own, with Kevin Boma ruled out after suffering an injury while playing for his club.

The Red Bull Salzburg defender played every minute of Togo’s opening two qualifying matches, making his absence a significant loss for coach Patrice Neveu. Neveu has responded by calling up Lilian Brassier to strengthen his defence.

Cameroon will have to cope without Baleba for both meetings with Namibia. The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury during the Champions League match against AS Roma and has not been included in the squad.

Cote d’Ivoire will also be missing a forward for their games against Gambia. Ange-Yoan Bonny, who plays for Inter Milan, is unavailable and has been replaced in the squad by Oumar Diakite.

Uganda’s match against Botswana will take place without Rogers Mato, who is also unavailable.

The main absentees announced for November are:

– Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) – Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) – Saidou Sow (Guinea) – Soumaila Sylla (Guinea) – Lamine Diaby-Fadiga (Guinea) – Mamadou Sarr (Senegal) – Krepin Diatta (Senegal) – Jaouen Hadjam (Algeria) – Mohamed Bachir Belloumi (Algeria) – Kevin Boma (Togo) – Carlos Baleba (Cameroon) – Ange-Yoan Bonny (Cote d’Ivoire) – Rogers Mato (Uganda)