A Morocco star who plays for Chelsea has reportedly been placed on a special training programme ahead of the Atlas Lions' crunch Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 clash with Bafana Bafana.
According to Kooora, head coach of the Moroccan national team Walid Regragui made his star winger Hakim Ziyech train on his own on Thursday.
The 30-year-old is currently on loan at Turkish side Galatasaray from the west Londoners, and while he has not hit the ground running with the Istanbul-based club, that has not been the case with his national team at the AFCON.
He and fullback Achraf Hakimi have continued to link up well on the right-hand side of the pitch, with the former scoring the decisive goal in their 1-0 victory in their final group stage match against Zambia.
While Ziyech did find the back of the net in the 37th minute of that encounter, Morocco's captain on the night did not emerge for the second half, seemingly being taken off as a precaution by Regragui.
Now, it is claimed that while the attacker's injury will not need serious treatment in Yamoussoukro, the 49-year-old tactician has continued to be cautious as far as managing his star's injury is concerned.
Ziyech is believed to have done some individual work with the team's physical trainer in the hopes of being fully fit the match against Hugo Broos' charges.
Ziyech's parent club Chelsea will be hoping they are as successful as the Moroccan in cup competition when they take on Aston Villa tonight in their FA Cup fourth round match-up.
In two out of the three seasons the winger has played in the oldest cup competition in the world, the Blues have made it to the final, but this season Mauricio Pochettino will have to do it without Ziyech.
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