The Democratic Republic of Congo have no regrets about leaving out Yoane Wissa from the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, saying they want him in top form for World Cup playoffs in March.
Coach Sebastien Desabre said it was a tough decision and that Wissa was disappointed not to be at the tournament in Morocco but his absence was in the best interests of both the player and national team.
Wissa, 29, suffered a knee injury playing for the Congolese against Senegal in a World Cup qualifier in early September, only returning to the pitch with new club Newcastle United three weeks ago as a substitute in their win over Burnley.
He has since made two more substitute appearances in the Premier League and started and scored in the League Cup quarterfinal victory over Fulham last week, raising the question whether the Congolese regretted not picking him for Morocco.
“We kept in close touch with the medical staff of Newcastle over the months and made the decision to carefully follow the medical protocols and not put any pressure on him to return too early,” Desabre told a Friday press conference ahead of the Cup of Nations clash against Senegal in Tangier on Saturday.
“I took the decision in the end to leave him (out of the Cup of Nations squad) in the best possible conditions to recover properly because we need him in the best form.
“It was a difficult decision, and I know he is disappointed not to be here with his teammates, but he understands,” the DR coach added.
The Congolese play Senegal on Saturday in their second Group D game at the Cup of Nations, a much-anticipated clash after the two sides met in World Cup qualification three months ago.
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DR CONGO PLAY WORLD CUP PLAYOFFS IN MARCH
Senegal came from two goals down to beat DR Congo 3-2 away in Kinshasa and go on to secure a place at next year’s World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico, and the US, but the Congolese have since gone on to win the African World Cup playoffs for the best runners-up in November and are now one match from also taking a place in the World Cup field.
They play either Jamaica or New Caledonia in March for a place at the 2026 finals.
“The players are revelling in playing in the Cup of Nations finals and then maybe … maybe in six months’ time at the World Cup as well,” added Desabre.
“We’ve achieved a lot in the last months, beating Cameroon and Nigeria in the World Cup play-off, and we have good technical capacity in our team.
“We have shown we are capable of getting results against the top teams in Africa.”