Guinea’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations campaign will proceed without midfielder Morlaye Sylla, who has been left out of the squad following a dispute stemming from a shirt swap with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.

The fallout, triggered after Guinea’s loss to Brazil in June, saw Sylla exchanging shirts with Vinicius, only for his shirt to vanish from the dressing room.

Allegations surfaced, with Sylla pointing fingers at teammates and subsequently accusing manager Kaba Diawara of theft.

Despite the incident, Sylla has neither apologized nor resolved the issue, resulting in his exclusion from the highly-anticipated tournament despite having 23 international caps.

In his absence, the team will count on the presence of captain Naby Keita, the former Liverpool midfielder, who despite injury setbacks at Werder Bremen is fit and set to join the squad for the tournament in Ivory Coast.