Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, will not have enjoyed watching the news from the Africa Cup of Nations, with Michael Essien, his midfield player, again the subject of an injury scare.
The Ghana captain went into the tournament with hamstring trouble and was taken to hospital yesterday with a knee problem after a collision in training. “I don’t know what the extent of it is,” Milovan Rajevac, the Ghana coach, said. Ghana need to beat Burkina Faso tomorrow to qualify for the quarter-finals.
In group D, Cameroon beat Zambia 3-2 in Lubango, Angola, last night. In a match strewn with eccentric goalkeeping, Cameroon secured victory when Mohammadou Idrissou headed home in the 86th minute. Gabon and Tunisia had earlier fought out a dreary 0-0 draw.
Cameroon play Tunisia and Gabon meet Zambia in the concluding games in the group on Thursday, with all four countries able to reach the last eight.