Akram TawfikGetty

Egypt’s Akram Tawfik ruled out for remainder of Afcon 2021 through ACL injury

Al Ahly defender Akram Tawfik will miss the remainder of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations having torn his anterior cruciate ligament against Nigeria, the Egyptian Football Association has confirmed.

Making his debut against Augustine Eguavoen’s Super Eagles, the 24-year-old suffered the setback very early in the game.

He was subsequently substituted for Mohamed Abdelmoneim in the 12th minute as the North Africans bowed 1-0 to Eguavoen’s men at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.

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“Scans revealed that Tawfik is suffering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and the player will return to Cairo,” a statement from the EFA read.

“Fatouh is suffering from a muscular strain and he will not be available for the Guinea Bissau game as the medical staff will prepare him for the Sudan game.”

This injury is a massive setback to the Egyptian senior national team who are hoping to win a record eighth African diadem in Cameroon.

In the same vein, Ahmed Fetouh suffered a quadriceps strain which will prevent him from taking part against Guinea-Bissau on Saturday.

Prior to the encounter against the West Africans, Egypt were unbeaten in each of their last 16 group matches in the competition (12 wins and four draws) – with that loss dating back to 2004.

However, a 30th-minute effort from Kelechi Iheanacho broke that impressive record into pieces.

The North Africans must defeat the Djurtus to fancy their chances of reaching the knockout phase as they target a record eighth African title in Cameroon.

Meanwhile, coach Queiroz has lambasted the "unacceptable" officiating errors which he felt cost his team against Nigeria.

“In the second half, there was a very clear penalty for us that the referee didn’t award and the VAR did not intervene,” he told the media.

“Maybe at that time, the VAR was not working.

“There was clearly a penalty. It wasn’t our day; it wasn’t also a good day for the refereeing. Even my grandmother would have awarded it a penalty.

“It is a disaster because there are VAR referees. It is unacceptable. Watch the incident yourself. It’s unbelievable that with all these referees, no one noticed the penalty.”

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