AFCON 2021: Wolves star out of Ivory Coast squad with calf injury

Wolves centre back Willy Boly will not be able to represent his country in the AFCON.

With the Africa Cup of Nations being a few weeks away, teams are discovering their available squads for the tournament. Ivory Coast manager Patrice Beaumelle announced his 28-man squad last week. However, his side have received a huge injury blow ahead of the tournament.

Wolves defender Willy Boly has suffered a calf injury that will keep him out of action for the AFCON. According to Wolves’ official website, the player will continue his rehabilitation process at the club.

Boly has constantly struggled with muscular problems this season. The Ivorian defender has not played a single Premier League minute while Wolves sit eighth in the competition.

His absence will be a blow to Ivory Coast’s dreams of winning the tournament. However, the Elephants still have the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Eric Bailly, Franck Kessié, and Nicolas Pépé in their squad.

Following their successful World Cup qualifying campaign, Ivory Coast will look forward to winning AFCON for the first time since 2015.

The Elephants will compete with title-holders Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea in Group E. They will start their campaign with a match against Equatorial Guinea on January 12. Beaumelle’s side will then face Sierra Leone before meeting Algeria in their final group stage game.

Ivory Coast squad for AFCON

Here is Ivory Coast’s full squad list for the tournament:

Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema), Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars), Abdoul Karim Cisse (ASEC Mimosas), Ira Eliezer Tape (San Pedro).

Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villarreal), Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids), Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen), Simon Deli (Adana Demirspor), Ghislain Konan (Reims).

Midfielders: Habib Maiga (Metz), Maxwel Cornet (Burnley), Serey Die (Sion), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio), Franck Kessie (AC Milan), Hamed Traore, (Sassuolo), Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo), Max Gradel (Sivasspor), Jean Michel Seri (Fulham).

Forwards: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Jean Evrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal), Sebastien Haller (Ajax), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht), Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan), Karim Konate (Asec Mimosas).