Tottenham Hotspur right-back Serge Aurier is currently on International duty at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, captaining the Ivory Coast, but has suffered a bizarre second injury of the tournament during Monday’s Round of 16 success against Mali.
According to RMC, the Ivory Coast captain picked up his latest injury during the half-time interval, despite already being ruled out of the game due to an existing ankle injury which also caused him to miss the final Group Stage game against Namibia.
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As the teams went into half-time level at 0-0, a frustrated Aurier has admitted to pounding a table with his fist within the changing room with such force that he was seen sporting a splint in post-match interviews, having damaged his wrist.
Fortunately for Aurier, his half-time emotion was reciprocated as the Ivory Coast would go on to squeak past Mali 1-0 thanks to a 76th minute Wilfried Zaha goal.
“We got a little heated, because in the game we were not good. I hit the table and there you go,” he said, as quoted by RMC.
“At home, when things go wrong, the parents scream at us. It’s the same thing. We had to have no regrets.”
The injury is not anticipated to keep Aurier out of contention of Thursday’s crunch Quarter-Final with Algeria, with both the initial ankle injury and the newer wrist problem seemingly on the mend.
Aurier endured an injury-plagued 2018/2019 season at Tottenham, so injuries during the pre-season portion of the 2019/2020 season campaign won’t do him any favours in securing the relatively vacant right-back berth at Tottenham.