Striker Beshir Belloumi will miss Algeria's November international camp due to injury. His absence comes ahead of two key Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers against Togo.
New national team coach Ibrahim Hamdani officially announced the player's exclusion. Hamdani said: "The player is suffering from back pain, for which he underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday evening." The coach added that he consequently decided to release Belloumi from the camp and call up Adam Zergan as a replacement.
Injury Details and Return
Belloumi sustained the injury during his club's Premier League match against Ipswich Town in the ninth round. The injury also caused him to miss the final match against Arsenal. An intensive recovery program is scheduled to begin next week, with his club coach, Sergej Jakirovic, planning to use him in the November 22 match against Brighton.
Belloumi's absence is a blow to the national team, especially following his recent form. The striker scored two goals for Algeria in the previous international break against Burundi and Mali. He has also contributed to 5 goals for his club this season with 3 goals and 2 assists. His market value recently rose to €18 million, three times its value in May.
Hamdani's Preparations
The Algerian team faces Togo at home on Saturday, November 14 in the third round of qualifiers, and then meets them again three days later in the fourth round. Algeria enters these matches leading Group Nine with four points from a win and a draw. Their last victory came on October 6 with a 2-1 win over Niger, where Mohamed Belloumi equalized before Riyad Bensebaini secured the points from the penalty spot.
Alongside Belloumi, Hamdani also excluded Hossam Boudaoui due to back pain and goalkeeper Abdel Latif Ramadan for family reasons. In their place, he called up goalkeeper Ryan Yessli from Olympique Acbo. The focus now is on securing two positive results to strengthen their lead and move closer to qualification.
This story first appeared at Eram News
