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Rabat- The Moroccan Atlas Lion Nabil Dirar has recovered from his injury and is back to training for the team’s opening World Cup match against Iran on Friday, June 15.
Weeks ahead of the World Cup competition, the national team’s winger from the right side, Dirar, had a calf injury in the middle of training and had to miss the friendly match against Slovakia in Geneva on June 4.
To avoid the risk of losing Dirar’s assets during the competition, the team’s coach, Hervé Renard, spared him from playing in the friendly match, saying:“It’s just a precaution to be in possession of all our strength… It’s better to leave him a few days off, and not let him play tomorrow to make sure he can get back in shape pretty quickly.”
Renard had already made a back-up plan in case Dirar’s injury did not heal in time: “There is no point in taking unnecessary risks…
On Wednesday, Dirar fan account wrote on a Twitter post, “2 days until the match against Iran,” followed by a “training” hashtag.
2J pour le match contre l’Iran.#training #dirar #nabildirar #maroc
— Nabil Dirar (@Dirar7Nabil) June 13, 2018
Nabil Dirar is finally back in full training! Should our consistent right-back start against Iran on Friday, despite missing all three preparation games? #MAR pic.twitter.com/UtipVBkRyK
— Maghrib Foot (@MaghribFoot) June 13, 2018
The post has given hope to the team’s fans who have been anxious to see Dirar play along with the team on its big day in St.Petersburg.
This gives Moroccan fans yet another reason to celebrate in addition to the World Cup beginning and Eid Al Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan). Reasons to celebrate are needed to counteract Wednesday’s disappointing loss of the vote to host the 2026 World Cup to the North American trio (the US, Canada, and Mexico).
The Atlas Lions will play their second match against the Portuguese on June 20 at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. The Lions will close their first-round experience on June 25 with a game against Spain in Kaliningrad.
