By reiterating that he will take no risks with his Senegalese midfielder, who is sidelined with a groin injury, Régis Le Bris confirmed that Habib Diarra will struggle to win his race against time for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Having undergone surgery for a groin injury on September 23, Habib Diarra has embarked on a race against time, with each milestone being carefully interpreted. The latest development is not very reassuring: while the 21-year-old Senegalese midfielder has missed the last two Lions of Teranga squad gatherings, his Sunderland coach, Frenchman Régis Le Bris, insisted at a press conference on Thursday that he will not take any risks regarding the return of the former Racing Club de Strasbourg captain.
As he indicated a few days ago, Habib Diarra still hopes to feature in the Tyne and Wear derby against Newcastle United on December 14th. The player, with 13 caps and 4 goals for the national team, knows he needs to play again to dispel some doubts for Pape Thiaw so the coach can take him to the Africa Cup of Nations. But the very fact that he can’t return to the pitch before the start of training camp is certainly not a positive sign.
Le Bris warns Senegal
“I think that whether it’s with Habib or with our players in general, it’s really important to take care of their health,” says Regis Le Bris. “His rehabilitation is going well, but we don’t want to rush things, because we’ll need Habib in top form for the second half of the season.” If it’s too early to resume training with the national team, and we risk compromising his health and fitness, we won’t take any chances. We’ll see what happens.
Habib Diarra still has a slim chance of being selected by Pape Thiaw, the coach who considers him a key player in his system. But the former Niarry Tally coach also shouldn’t take risks by going to the Africa Cup of Nations with a player who isn’t fully fit, especially since this uncertainty is already dominating the news surrounding the Senegalese national team. A month before the competition, Como striker Assane Diao is in a similar situation to Habib Diarra.
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