9 months ago
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Tottenham star Yves Bissouma tested positive for malaria at the Africa Cup of Nations, according to Mali boss Eric Chelle.
Bissouma featured four times for Mali as they were knocked out of AFCON by Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
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Chelle revealed that the Spurs man, and teammate Moussa Diarra had been suffering from malaria.
"You know Yves and Moussa were suffering from malaria, regarding the blood tests, it’s not so serious, because someone born in West Africa is used to malaria, he could play but for Moussa it was different," Chelle said.
"It was the first time he contracted malaria, so he started some light training but we’ll take things carefully, but there’s no outbreak or anything."
Bissouma came off the bench in the 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Ivory Coast, in a game that went to extra-time.
He played the full 90 minutes against Namibia, started against South Africa and had a six minute cameo against Tunisia.
The 27-year-old was sent off in his last game for Tottenham on December 15.
It was his second of the season meaning he was handed a four-game ban for the mis-timed challenge on Nottingham Forest's Ryan Yates.
Speaking about that red card at the time, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said: “It’s an issue, but it’s not so much discipline. Tonight, I haven’t seen a slowed-down version (of Bissouma’s tackle) but it was just a desperate lunge more than anything malicious. The way we play our football, without crossing a line, I love the commitment that the guys show.
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“Unfortunately we pay the price now as, not just for this game, he obviously misses a huge chunk of football between now and when he comes back. It’s disappointing, but it is what it is.”
