Senegal have been forced into another injury switch to their squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan with right back Krépin Diatta ruled out through injury and Arouna Sangante called up as replacement.
Diatta has been forced to withdraw from Senegal's two matches against the Sudanese after having come off injured in the 14th minute of last weekend's goalless Championship draw for his club Watford against Middlesbrough.
Diatta, who was a regular for Senegal when they won the last Cup of Nations in Morocco, had been left out of the last squad by new coach Patrick Vieira while he was looking for a new club and will now have to wait until March for a chance to reclaim his place on the right hand side of defence.
The 24-year-old Sangante, who is at LaLiga club Sevilla, got his first call-up when the 2027 Cup of Nations qualifiers kicked off but has yet to play for Senegal, although was on the bench for their 1-0 win over the Comoros in their 4 October friendly in Marseille, France.
This is the second replacement called up by the Lions of Teranga, following Massiré Sylla, who was brought in to replace centre back Mamadou Sarr after he suffered a calf injury.
The uncapped Sylla is a teammate of Bafana starlet Relebohile Mofokeng at Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise and is the 12th new player that Vieira has called up since taking charge after the World Cup.
Senegal, who share top place in Group J with Mozambique on four points, host Sudan in Dakar on Thursday and then play the return in neutral Juba, South Sudan, next Monday.