OGC Nice suffer double injury blow in Champions League defeat | OneFootball

OGC Nice’s squad was blighted by injuries last season. At one point, an entire starting XI was sidelined, whilst the likes of Terem Moffi and Morgan Sanson missed the vast majority of the campaign. The season ended on a sour note, too, as Mohamed Abdelmonem and Youssouf Ndayishimiye were struck down by ACL injuries in quick succession. They will miss much of the upcoming campaign, too.

Le Gym’s season officially got underway in a UEFA Champions League qualifier against SL Benfica on Wednesday night. Heading into the game, Nice were already without some players due to injury, with Moïse Bombito, Mohamed-Ali Cho, Tanguy Ndombélé, Ali Abdi, and Sofiane Diop all carrying knocks, to varying degrees. The latter did get on the pitch, however, late in the match as the Ligue 1 side lost 2-0. It leaves them with a mountain to climb heading into the second leg next Tuesday.

However, they will likely go into that match with two more absences. Sanson went down in the 27th minute, clutching his hamstring, and was immediately substituted. “Obviously, I don’t know the seriousness or grade, but it’s a proper injury,” confirmed Franck Haise post-match.

Dante was also forced off at half-time, with Haise confirming that the captain was struggling with pain in his left knee after an awkward step towards the end of the first half. Nice’s season is hardly underway, but those injury problems look to be following them into the new campaign.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle