It is a heavy loss for the Fennecs. Vladimir Petkovic, the coach of the Algerian national team, announced it during his press conference on the eve of the round of 16 of CAN 2025 against DR Congo: Jaouen Hadjam has withdrawn from the rest of the continental tournament.
“We tried everything to get him back but finally we released him so that he could go to his club for treatment,” the technician revealed this Monday afternoon. As a reminder: the left back of Young Boys from Bern (Switzerland) was forced to leave his partners in the 13th minute of the match between Algeria and Burkina Faso, on Sunday December 28 (1-0).
A sprained left ankle diagnosed
Following a strong tackle from Gustavo Sangaré, Hadjam, starting for the first time in the competition, failed to get up. While the first exams were rather reassuring, the MRI performed on Tuesday December 30 put a damper on hopes of a return to the group by the end of the CAN.
In reality, the former Paris FC and FC Nantes defender suffers from a sprained left ankle. The recovery times will therefore be too long to hope to participate in the clash against the Leopards this Tuesday in Rabat.
To be credited with an excellent group stage, the Greens won their first three matches of CAN 2025, achieving a “perfect” only achieved by Nigeria. Riyad Mahrez and his partners will therefore present themselves with full confidence for their first knockout match in the competition since… the victorious final against Senegal in 2019.
