Ivory Coast coach Patrice Beaumelle has revealed that JDR Stars ‘keeper Badra Ali Sangaré suffered a potentially serious injury during his howler at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sangaré made headlines at the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday when a calamitous error during Ivory Coast’s 2-2 draw against Sierra Leone allowed Al-Hadji Kamara to score a 93rd-minute equaliser to earn his country a share of the spoils.
The 35-year-old, who only assumed the No. 1 jersey ahead of the tournament after Sylvain Gbohouo was banned for alleged doping violations, latched onto a loose ball in the box but lost control of the situation when he slammed into the turf.
The force of the impact saw the ball pop out from underneath Sangaré and he could only watch in despair as Sierra Leone capitalised on his error to find the back of the net with just seconds remaining on the clock.
Adding insult to injury, the ‘keeper appeared to suffer a painful knock as a result of the questionable pitch condition and had to be stretchered off before receiving support from his coach, Beaumelle, who revealed that he was in tears after the match.
I went to the hospital and his knee is very painful,” Beaumell said, per AfricaTopSports. “He was crying, he was in a lot of pain, the doctors were on it. I hope it’s not very serious for him because I don’t understand not what happened, he didn’t deserve this.”
Despite the result, Ivory Coast remains top of Group E with four points from their opening two matches, ahead of Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, and reigning champions, Algeria.