Morocco’s Nayef Aguerd Sidelined with Knee Injury Ahead of AFCON Qualifiers

– bySaid@Bladi · 1 min read
Morocco's Nayef Aguerd Sidelined with Knee Injury Ahead of AFCON Qualifiers

Bad news for the Atlas Lions! Nayef Aguerd, central defender of Real Sociedad and a pillar of the Moroccan national team, was injured on Thursday evening during the Europa League match against Viktoria Plzeň. Injured in the knee ligaments, he could miss several weeks of competition.

"Nayef Aguerd is injured in the knee ligaments. The injury is worrying," said Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil at the post-match press conference. According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Aguerd’s presence next Sunday against FC Barcelona is "almost certain".

This setback disrupts the plans of Walid Regragui, coach of Morocco, just days before the qualifying matches for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against Gabon and Lesotho. Aguerd had established himself as an undisputed starter in central defense, filling the void left by Romain Saïss.

Morocco will therefore have to do without him on November 15 against Gabon in Libreville, and then on November 18 in Oujda against Lesotho. Walid Regragui will have to find solutions to consolidate his defense, which has shown signs of fragility in recent times.