FILE: Cameroon’s Bangou Tchamba (C) fights for the ball with Ivory Coast’s Serge Aurier (L) and Sebastien Haller (L) during the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification football match between Ivory Coast and Cameroon at the Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe stadium Anyama on September 6, 2021. (Photo by Issouf SANOGO / AFP)

Four Cameroon players including attacker Pierre Kunde Malong have tested positive for Covid-19 less than two weeks away from the Africa Cup of Nations, the holders’ head of communications said Thursday.

The quartet had been in quarantine since Wednesday after “strong suspicions” upon their arrival with the squad, Serge Guiffo told AFP.

“Pierre Kunde Malong, Jean Efala Konguep, Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui and Christian Bassogog will continue their isolation away from the squad,” he added.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting left training early after suffering a knee issue.

“The MRI undertaken immediately afterwards will tell us more about its extent and his potential unavailability,” Guiffo said.

The five-time winners open the tournament on January 9 by facing Burkina Faso and also play Cape Verde and Ethiopia in the group stage.

The biennial competition has been pushed back twice, first because of fears that torrential seasonal rains could affect the tight schedule, and then because of the coronavirus pandemic.

AFP