Fulham midfielder Mahamadou Diarra will be absent from Mali's Africa Cup of Nations campaign this month after he was ruled out of the competition with a knee injury.
The Premier League club have confirmed that the 31-year-old has been unable to recover from a knee injury that has blighted his campaign since early December.
A statement on the club's website said: "After considering the advice of the Fulham medical team, Mali have reviewed the player and Diarra will return to the club to continue his rehabilitation with the Whites rather than participate in the tournament in South Africa."
The competition gets underway on January 19.
