Cote d’Ivoire Head Coach, Jean-Louis Gasset has ruled out striker Sebastian Haller from Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opener against Guinea Bissau, due to ankle injury.

Gasset disclosed this on Friday in Abidjan at a news conference, ahead of their opening match of the tournament.

The gaffer added that the availability of the Borussia Dortmund striker for their second Group A game against Nigeria was also doubtful, as he continues to recover from the injury.

He said there were also fitness concerns for forward Nicolas Pepe, who was recently recalled to the squad, as he’s also struggling with a knee injury.

“Pepe played 30 minutes in last Saturday’s friendly (a 5-1 win over Sierra Leone), but is still not fully fit. 

“He suffered a knee injury at Trabzonspor in December (2023) and we have been bringing him along slowly,” he explained.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Pepe plays in the same club with Super Eagles Paul Onuachu,  who was drafted as a late replacement for injured striker Sadiq Umar on Friday.

Gasset had never been to the continent before taking the job, but 20 months on from his appointment, he has been charged with winning the AFCON for the home nation.

Gasset, with extensive Ligue 1 experience and formerly an assistant coach of France under Laurent Blanc, said it had been both a swift learning experience and an exciting challenge, which he relishes.

“I want to savour the event and appreciate the environment and the experience.

“We feel the pressure, but I don’t think it’s an additional pressure. My objective is to turn this pressure into something positive, a drive to give us confidence. 

“This pressure has a very good aspect to it and we must take advantage of it, and this is the message I’ve been giving my squad,” he said.

Gasset warned, however, of the quality of Guinea Bissau players, who were yet to win a game at the finals and are 103rd in the FIFA rankings, 54 places below the Ivorians.

“We want to start well but with due respect to our opponents, who are very dangerous at counter attacks, we need to dominate the game. 

“They have beaten Nigeria in the qualifiers and we know they have good players especially Mama Balde, who now plays at Lyon,” the coach said.

NAN reports that Nigeria has already made three forced changes to their squad due to injury.

The injured trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar have been replaced by Alhassan Yusuf, Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu, respectively.

Edited by Maharazu Ahmed