Denis Zakaria and Folarin Balogun absent from AS Monaco training | OneFootball

Denis Zakaria, Folarin Balogun, and Mohamed Salisu were all absent from AS Monaco’s training session in La Turbie on Wednesday.

The trio missed Sunday’s defeat in the Derby de la Côte d’Azur against OGC Nice (2-1). Zakaria was initially included in the line-up but was ultimately replaced Soungoutou Magassa just ahead of kick-off. Speaking after the match, Adi Hütter didn’t seem too concerned about the Swiss international.

“He was really unlucky, in the warm-up. He took a shot and was then injured in the adductor. It was a high risk to let him play. He complained a lot so we had to reduce the risk. I wouldn’t let him play and it was the right decision,” said the Monaco manager.

Coulibaly nearing Monaco return

Balogun has been out since since suffering a dislocated shoulder at the start of the month. It had been thought that the former Arsenal forward would be out for around two months but his return to first-team training sparked hopes that he would make a quicker return. “It seems as though he (Balogun) could be back earlier than expected,” said Hütter.

The Austrian also provided an update on Salisu last week, revealing that the former Southampton defender would likely be out until after the international break after suffering a hamstring injury while with the Ghana national team. He too was absent.

Photo credit: Luke Entwistle

There was one bit of good news, however, for Les Monégasques, who have welcomed academy product Mamadou Coulibaly back to the fold. He suffered a serious knee injury in the final game of last season and was forced to undergo surgery, however, he has now returned to the first team and is nearing a return for Monaco.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Monaco