Ivory Coast announces Evan Ndicka will be their only absentee for debut against Ecuador

Ivory Coast's coach Emerse Faé announced on Saturday that Evan Ndicka will be the team's sole absentee for their World Cup debut on Sunday against Ecuador. The Roma center-back has not fully recovered from a muscle injury he suffered in mid-May.

"I'm not going to say that everything is going well in the infirmary, but apart from Evan Ndicka, everyone will be able to play tomorrow, so we are very happy in that regard," Faé explained at a press conference held at the Philadelphia stadium where the 'Tri' and 'The Elephants' will debut in the 2026 World Cup. The defender, who plays in Italy's Serie A, suffered a tear in his right hamstring in the penultimate matchday of the season against Lazio.

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I'm not going to say that everything is going well in the infirmary, but apart from Evan Ndicka, everyone will be able to play tomorrow, so we are very happy in that regard.

Medical staff had given him up to four weeks to recover from the muscle injury he sustained on May 17. The 26-year-old center-back, who is reportedly a transfer target for Inter, Tottenham, or Newcastle after the World Cup, has become a pillar of the Ivorian defense in the last two years, alongside players like Ousmane Diomandé (Sporting de Lisboa) and Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta), who is expected to be his replacement on Sunday.

Faé reported on Saturday that the defender is still experiencing discomfort in his right leg but assured that he will be able to get minutes in this World Cup, where Ivory Coast and Ecuador are in Group E, along with Germany and Curaçao. "If we hadn't thought he could play, we wouldn't have called him up for the World Cup. We consider that he will be able to play and get minutes," concluded the former Nantes and Nice player.

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If we hadn't thought he could play, we wouldn't have called him up for the World Cup. We consider that he will be able to play and get minutes.