Tarik Tissoudali may have to miss the World Cup. The attacker of AA Gent, who was born in Amsterdam but is an international player for Morocco, suffered an apparently serious knee injury on Saturday evening. Belgian media saw Tissoudali leave the stadium on crutches and report that participation in the World Cup is on the line.
The competition match between Ghent and Sint-Truiden (1-1) was only half an hour away when Tissoudali had to leave. Just before that, he felt a painful face on his right knee. After the game, the 29-year-old attacker left the stadium on crutches and is said to have already told Moroccan media that he is afraid of injury to his cruciate ligament. That would mean that he will be sidelined for a number of months and that participation in the World Cup is in danger.
That would be a huge blow for Tissoudali, who was a fixture in the Moroccan selection this year. He earned that spot by coming to Ghent via Telstar, Le Havre, Cambuur, VVV-Venlo, De Graafschap and KFC Beerschot and excelling there every week. Participation in the World Cup would be the crowning glory for the Amsterdam-born attacker, who has also been in the picture at clubs in the Middle East due to his good performance. A lucrative transfer should be completed soon, but that too now seems uncertain.
After the 1-1 draw against Sint-Truiden, Ghent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck indicated that the lack of Tissoudali was also a setback for his team. “An explanation for our mediocre second half is the withdrawal of Tissoudali”, he reported in Belgian media. “You can’t ignore that. We have missed players of the level of Tissoudali. Sven Kums also left the field with pain, but Tarik seems to be a more serious case.”
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