Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Jan 29 (IANS) The Cote d’ Ivoire football team is having injury concerns with skipper Yaya Toure struggling after a knock in their 1-0 win over Cameroon in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
A limping Toure was substituted after 80 minutes before Cote d’ Ivoire saw off their arch rivals to qualify for the last eight Wednesday. Toure, who plies his trade for Premier League side Manchester City, took over the captainship of the team last year after the retirement of Didier Drogba, reports Xinhua.
“We cannot tell how bad Yaya’s injury is for now but we still have some days to assess the impact before the quarter-final,” said head coach Renard Herve.
“For a team of the calibre of Cote d’ Ivoire, the competition starts in the quarter-final. Before that, it is a failure. If you don’t go through the first round, people point fingers at you. Now we will face Algeria in the quarters, a very good team with a lot of attacking talents.”
Defender Kolo Toure said although they beat Cameroon, they have to go back and correct the weak areas ahead of the quarter-final because it will not be any easier.
To reach the knockouts, the ‘Elephants’ topped Group D with five points after 1-1 draws against Mali and Guinea before picking maximum points Wednesday night.