Mali hope to have Mohamed Camara fit for the Africa Cup of Nations opener against Bafana Bafana at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on Tuesday (22:00).
Camara, according to the FEMAFOOT, picked up an injury for his club Monaco when they lost 1-0 to Lyon at home on 15 December.
The midfielder was taken off in the 70th minute and has struggled to shake off the injury ever since.
“Camara traveled this afternoon [on Sunday] to Abidjan [Ivorian capital] where he will undergo an MRI scan [magnetic resonance imaging] for a final check following the injury he contracted with his club, AS Monaco, a few weeks ago,” said the club statement.
The 24-year was part of the Mali side that featured in the 2022 AFCON in Cameroon, where they lost to Equatorial Guinea on penalties in the round of 16.
He won the U20 Africa Cup of Nations that was hosted in Niger in 2019, where they beat Senegal on penalties.
Before joining Monaco ahead of the 2022/23 season, Camara spent three successful seasons with Austrian side Red Salzburg – winning three league titles between 2019 and 2022.
After the Bafana match on Tuesday, Mali will also face Namibia and Tunisia in Group E.
Unlike Bafana, Mali has not lost an opening AFCON group stage match in their history, and they last reached the AFCON final in 1970, which was hosted in Cameroon.
