Tunisia suffer goalkeeper blow

First-choice Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi will miss the 2012 African Cup of Nations due to adductor and finger surgery.

Mathlouthi underwent surgery on Monday and will now be out of action for three months, meaning he will miss January’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The news is a blow for Tunisian coach Sami Trabelsi, who will instead have to rely on talented yet less experienced goalkeepers such as Stade Tunisien’s Rami Jeridi or Esperance’s Moez Ben Cherifia.

Jeridi appears to be the favourite to replace Mathlouthi in the starting lineup as he was a part of Tunisia’s successful 2011 African Championship of Nations campaign.

The ‘Baklawa’ shot-stopper came on late in the semi-final and guessed right on every one of Algeria’s penalty kicks, stopping the last one that gave his team the opportunity to advance to the trophy match.

On the other hand, Ben Cherifia has been in astonishing form for Esperence in their CAF Champions League encounters, helping them make it to the final of the tournament for the second year in a row.