⚠️ Brazil's Copa rivals Morocco confirm striker injury

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation confirmed very bad news for the national team on the eve of the 2026 World Cup.

Forward Abde suffered a sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and will be unavailable for the entire group stage of the tournament.

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The Real Betis player was injured during the warm-up friendly against Norway.

The incident happened when his former club teammate, Chadi Riad, accidentally fell onto his knee, forcing the forward to be substituted at halftime.

Tests showed a mild-to-moderate sprain, with an estimated recovery time of four weeks.

Despite the lengthy layoff, Morocco’s coaching staff decided to keep Abde in the squad for the World Cup.

Based on the recovery timeline, the forward will miss the opener against Brazil as well as the second match against Scotland.

A return for the third round, against Haiti on June 25, is also considered highly unlikely.

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The national team is pinning all its hopes on the player’s recovery so he can be used from the knockout stage onward, if Morocco advances in the tournament.

Extra Caution

The entire rehabilitation process will be jointly monitored by the Moroccan national team’s medical department and Real Betis staff.

Caution with the player is even greater because of his recent history: the winger suffered an injury in the Conference League final that sidelined him at the start of last season.

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