Nottingham Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté was stretchered off during Senegal’s opening World Cup match against the Netherlands.
The summer signing started the Group A match in midfield for Aliou Cissé’s side alongside Leicester City’s Nampalys Mendy before being forced off the field. Kouyaté had performed well in keeping Holland scoreless while up against Frenkie de Jong and Steven Berghuis in the middle of the park
That is, until he was dragged off the pitch with an injury and carried off the pitch prone on a stretcher after colliding with De Jong. The event itself was minor, and Kouyaté was replaced by Pape Gueye of Marseille.
The scores were still level at that stage, but the Netherlands went on to win 2-0 after Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen scored late goals for Louis van Gaal’s side, with De Jong crossing for the forward. Senegal are next in action against the hosts Qatar on Friday lunchtime before facing Ecuador in the final group stage game next Tuesday afternoon
It is just one day shy of a month until Forest are back in action against Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup fourth round. Whether Kouyaté will be fit for that fixture remains to be seen at this stage.
