Rui Borges’ key Sporting player left out of national squad | OneFootball

Ousmane Diomande was left out of the players called up to represent Ivory Coast in the upcoming international fixtures. The reigning champions of the Africa Cup of Nations have scheduled matches against Burundi and Gabon, as part of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

According to information reported by the newspaper Record, the ‘number 26’ of Sporting was not among the 23 athletes selected by Emerse Faé, as he is currently injured and his national team coach does not want to risk delaying his physical recovery. As a result, the 21-year-old center-back will continue at the Performance Unit of the Alcochete Academy.

Without Ousmane Diomande, Ivory Coast’s upcoming international fixtures will feature the presence of Yahia Fofana, Mohamed Kone, Alban Lafont, Emmanuel Agbadou, Clement Akpa, Ghislain Konan, Odilon Kossounou, Evan N’Dicka, Christopher Operi, Wilfried Singo, Luck Zogbe, Seko Fofana, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Parfait Guiagon, Frank Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare, Simon Adingra, Vakoun Bayo, Amad Diallo, Evann Guessand, Nicolas Pepe, Sebastien Haller, and Bazoumana Toure.

It is worth recalling that the absence of the Ivorian center-back from Sporting has been felt ever since he was injured in the match against Casa Pia. The defender is a strong presence in aerial duels, which turned out to be one of the most fragile areas in the last game against Nacional. As such, the Club’s medical department has gone into a race against time to try to have the player fit to face Porto, on August 30.

This season, wearing Sporting’s jersey, Ousmane Diomande – valued at 45 million euros – has played in two matches. The Ivory Coast international center-back started in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, playing 68 minutes against Benfica; and also against Casa Pia, being on the pitch for 58', before getting injured.

Check out Ivory Coast’s squad list:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.