The Tunisian Football Federation announced on Wednesday evening, on the eve of an important CAN match, that 12 players from the national team tested positive for coronavirus will therefore not be able to play Thursday against Gambia.
After a resounding victory against Mauritania on Sunday, where the Carthage Eagles shone with a 4-0, the Tunisian team is very weakened due to the absence of 12 of its elements for a decisive match against Gambia in the framework of the African Cup of Nations (CAN).
“This evening, the players took part in a training session in the presence of 16 players and in the absence of the rest (from the selection of 28 team members, editor’s note) due to their contamination by Covid-19”, specified the Federation in a post on Facebook on Wednesday evening.
The team will have to function without its star striker, Wahbi Khazri, who plays for Saint Etienne. Other important players from the Tunisian selection will be missing, including Ali Maaloul, Ayman Dahmen, Ghailene Chaalali, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Wahbi Khazri, Ali Jmal and Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida.
These players tested positive on Tuesday and were isolated from the group, on the contrary the player Mohamed Drager, contaminated at the start, has recovered.
The coaches and medical supervisors hope that 5 other players from the team infected at the start of the tournament will be able to join the fields for the rest of the competition. They are regularly subjected to rapid tests to check their condition.
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