Angola star Zine Salvador ruled out of AFCON

Angola have suffered an injury blow ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following the injury of a key player.

Media outlets in the former Portuguese colony have confirmed that youthful forward Zine Salvador has been ruled out of the tournament scheduled for Morocco from December 21 to January 18 2026.

The AEK Athens player suffered the injury during the Europa Conference League fourth round match against Samsunspor on Thursday. The Greece side won the game 2-1, but the cost of the victory was heavy as they lost Salvador to a lengthy injury.

He is expected to be out for up to six weeks, effectively ruling him out of AFCON. Angola coach Patrice Beaumelle confirmed the injury of the Palancas Negres hot property.

The coach added that his effort to replace Zine Salvador with Fabio Abreu have hit a snag as he has declined the offer.

The Palancas Negras will battle it out against Egypt and fellow Southern African opponents South Africa and Zimbabwe.