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Football

Hakimi's lateness raises Halilhodžić concern

The Moroccan right-back hasn't been given permission by Inter Milan to join his national team camp for the Mauritania and Burundi games in AFCON qualifiers.

Update:
Soccer Football - Serie A - Torino v Inter Milan - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - March 14, 2021 Inter Milan's Achraf Hakimi during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
MASSIMO PINCAREUTERS

The delayed arrival of Moroccan right-back Achraf Hakimi at Atlas Lions preparatory camp for the two AFCON qualifiers fixtures against Mauritania and Burundi raised concerns among Morocco's technical staff, as Vahid Halilhodžić may resort to options from the local national team to make up for his potential absence.

Inter Milan have been strict about allowing the player to join his national team as their squad has been severely hit with covid-19 which led to the cancellation of their Serie A game against Sassuolo.

Hakimi is likely to miss the camp due to Inter covid-19 outbreak

As time goes by, Hakimi's chances of catching up with the Moroccan team are declining, which may force the Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodžić to turn to the Moroccan national team of local players who are holding their camp at the same sports complex as Halilhodžić's men.

Among those who joined the Moroccan camp were Olympiacos striker Youssef El-Arabi, AZ Alkmaar's Zakaria Aboukhlal, and Munir Al Haddadi, whose issue with FIFA was resolved.

Inter goalkeeper and captain Samir Handanovic, defenders Danilo D'Ambrosio and Stefan de Vrij, and midfielder Matias Vecino returned positive test results ahead of the team's game against Sassuolo which resulted with the team announcing the suspension of the firs-team activities for four days.