Hosts Côte d’Ivoire will be without striker Sebastien Haller in the AFCON 2023 opener with Guinea-Bissau today (Saturday) as he recovers from injury.

Haller, 29, who came off in Dortmund’s last game in the German Bundesliga on December 19, has been struggling with an ankle problem.

Elephants coach Jean-Louis Gasset confirmed Haller will not play in the Group A but suggested there was some hope he would return to face Nigeria’s Super Eagles on January 18.

“He will not be in the squad, for sure, but we have five days after that before the next game and we will see how he gets on,” Gasset told reporters in Abidjan on Friday via France24.

Haller has endured a difficult season with Dortmund, for whom he has not scored since netting in a German Cup tie against lower-league opposition in August.

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