Soccer-Guinea hope Guirassy injury no blow to Cup of Nations campaign

Guinea are hoping leading striker Serhou Guirassy will be fit to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations finals despite limping off early in a friendly international against Nigeria in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Guinea are hoping leading striker Serhou Guirassy will be fit to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations finals despite limping off early in a friendly international against Nigeria in the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Coach Kaba Diawara said the VfB Stuttgart striker, who has netted 17 times in the Bundesliga this season and sits only behind Harry Kane in the German league’s scoring charts, would undergo treatment on Tuesday.

But he thought the apparent knee injury was not too bad. "He came off to avoid any risks. We don't know how serious it is now, but it doesn't look too serious. I can only hope it's nothing serious," the coach told reporters in the United Arab Emirates where Guinea are preparing for the tournament in the Ivory Coast, which gets underway on Saturday

The 27-year-old left the field in the 27th minute of Guinea’s 2-0 win over Nigeria in a warm-up international. Guinea open their Group C campaign against Cameroon in Yamoussoukro on Monday.