Cameroon coach Rigobert Song is confident that Vincent Aboubakar will be fit in time for the second leg of their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying tie against Algeria on Tuesday.
In Friday's first leg, Aboubakar only played for 45 minutes before he was replaced at the break in their 1-0 loss to the Desert Foxes.
Islam Slimani's header in the 40th minute separated the teams in Douala to give the visitors a crucial first-leg advantage in their quest to feature in the global showpiece billed for Qatar.
Song, in his briefing, disclosed that the Cameroon captain suffered a heel injury and he was replaced early in the encounter in order to prevent further damage.
“Vincent Aboubakar has a recurrent heel problem. The heavy nature of the pitch this evening aggravated the pain, that's why we replaced him at the break to prevent a worst-case scenario," Song said, via Caf website.
"We will see what happens in our next game, but we are sure he will be available to help the team."
Aboubakar remains a key player in the Indomitable Lions’ set-up and he was the top scorer at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with eight goals in seven matches.
Song, who suffered a defeat in his first game as Cameroon coach, is optimistic of his team’s chances to overturn the first leg setback in Blida on Tuesday.
“Our performance was not bad. We did what had to be done. We remain confident, we need to get a result in the return game. we will try to qualify in Blida," he said.
Cameroon have played in seven editions of the Fifa World Cup, even though they did not qualify for the last edition in Russia 2018.
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