Morocco's Achraf Hakimi ready to play at Cup of Nations after injury

RABAT: Morocco’s African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi has recovered from an ankle injury and is ready to play at the Africa Cup of Nations, he told a press conference on Saturday.

The participation of the Morocco captain at their home tournament had been in doubt after he hurt ankle ligaments playing for Paris St Germain against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last month.

There has been speculation over his recovery since, but the 27-year-old Hakimi was in a confident mood on the eve of Sunday’s opening game.

Morocco kick off the month-long tournament against Comoros in Rabat on Sunday, although whether Hakimi will be given more time to recover remains to be seen.

“I feel good. I’m following the programme with the doctors and the coach (Walid Regragui). After that, we’ll see what the coach decides. You can ask him,” he told reporters.

“I was scared after my injury. I didn’t want to miss this Cup of Nations that we are hosting.

“I wanted to be there with the team. I don’t know when I’ll play, but I feel ready,” he added.

Regragui thanked the fullback for his hard work during the rehabilitation process.

“He went above and beyond,” the coach told the same press conference.

“His injury wasn’t straightforward. He made some tough decisions for his country. As a coach and a Moroccan, I want to thank him in front of everyone. He’s a true role model.”

However, Regragui was non-committal on whether Hakimi would play as early as Sunday’s opening Group A match.

“Does he start, or do we rest him? We’ll see, that will be my decision,” the coach said. “He could start tomorrow … or not.”

Hakimi was crowned Africa’s best player at the Confederation of African Football awards last month but appeared at the ceremony in Rabat on crutches, sparking doubt over whether he would recover in time for the finals.

But he was named in the squad earlier this month and then pictured training with the rest of the players this week.