Wilfred Ndidi has been ruled out of Nigeria’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign because of injury.

The 27-year-old Leicester City midfielder was named in the Super Eagles’ 25-man squad on 29 December but was absent from his club side’s win over Huddersfield Town on Monday.

Royal Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has been called up to replace Ndidi.

Nigeria are still hopeful Ndidi’s Leicester team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho will be able to join the squad.

Forward Iheanacho, 27, has missed the Foxes’ past two games in the Championship with a muscle problem.

Nigeria begin their Group A campaign against Equatorial Guinea on 14 January, and the West Africans will also face hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau in the group stage.

Meanwhile, Rennes striker Amine Gouiri has withdrawn from Algeria’s squad because of a knee injury.

The North Africans are yet to name a replacement for the 23-year-old, who made his debut for the Fennecs in October after switching his international allegiance from France. Meanwhile, Alfa Semedo was reduced to a watching brief for most of Guinea-Bissau’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign.

Struck down by Covid-19 on the eve of the tournament, the midfielder quarantined in his Cameroonian hotel and featured in only 15 minutes of his side’s final group-stage game against Nigeria.

This time around in Ivory Coast, the 26-year-old is determined to help propel Guinea-Bissau to the knockout stages for the first time – helped by his experiences of playing against some of the most decorated players of all time.

Semedo joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Tai in August 2022, four months before five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo became the most high-profile name to move to the country when Al-Nassr signed the Portugal captain.

Five-time Champions League winner Karim Benzema, four-time Premier League winner Riyad Mahrez and the most expensive player in history, Neymar, are among the succession of stellar names to have followed Semedo’s and Ronaldo’s path in 2023.

Unsurprisingly, Semedo has enjoyed the challenge of facing some of the world’s best players this season.

“It’s unreal – unbelievable,” Semedo told BBC Sport Africa.

“It is great because you don’t play matches against Ronaldo or Benzema every day. It’s not normal for most footballers, so of course it is something special.

“When I signed for Al-Tai, I didn’t expect all the stuff that has happened this year.

“My friends joke that I must have known what was coming, but honestly I feel lucky to be here to play with all these guys.”

Semedo singles out fellow midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante, who joined Al-Ittihad in July following the expiry of his Chelsea contract.

“In Saudi, the toughest opponent so far is Kante,” he says. “This guy is so good. He just doesn’t stop running.

“He doesn’t get tired. You turn around and he is there. He works so hard – he is a great footballer.”

Semedo’s career began in the much-admired academy of Benfica, where he played alongside Joao Felix and Ruben Dias, now at Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.

The pinnacle of his time with the Portuguese giants came when he ended an eight-game Champions League losing streak for the club with a late winner at AEK Athens during the 2018-19 group stage.