Afcon: Anxiety as injured Burkina Faso star, Traore bows out of Cup

NELSPRUIT, South Africa – Burkina Faso’s march to the Africa Cup of Nations last eight has come at a major price, with star player Alain Traore sustaining an injury that rules him out of the rest of the competition.

Traore pulled a muscle in his left thigh in the opening minutes of Tuesday’s goalless draw with champions Zambia, which saw the Burkinabe top Group C.

“Alain’s chances of continuing in this Nations Cup are minus 10 percent,” the team’s doctor, Romaric Toe, told AFP on Wednesday.

“He pulled a muscle in his left thigh, and will undergo all the necessary examinations, but his competition I would say is over.”

Traore, holding an ice pack to his thigh, said: “For me the Nations Cup is finished.

File photo: Nigeria’s midfielder Fegor Ogude (R) vies with Burkina Faso’s Ahmed Musa during the Afcon’s Nigeria vs Burkina Faso group C match AFP PHOTO

“We were waiting to qualify for the quarter-finals for such a long time this injury has spoiled the enjoyment a little.”

The Traore-less Burkina Faso face either Togo or Tunisia in Sunday’s quarter-final.(AFP)