Ivory Coast’s powerhouse midfielder Yaya Toure will be fit to start their World Cup campaign against Japan, coach Sabri Lamouchi said on Friday.
The three-times African player of the year picked up a hamstring injury in April playing for club side Manchester City as they went on to win the English Premier League title.
He joined up late with the Ivory Coast squad after undergoing treatment in Qatar and missed the two warm-up matches in the United States where the Africans lost 2-1 to Bosnia but beat El Salvador by the same score.
He is likely to start in the heart of midfield, however, as Ivory Coast face Japan in a Group C match at the Pernambuco arena in the northern city of Recife on Saturday.
“I can tell you that all my players are physically ready to play tomorrow,” Lamouchi told a news conference. “I can’t say that all my players will be at 100 percent.
“We have had a number of injuries and health problems but everybody is available tomorrow.”
Source: Supersport