Ange-Yoan Bonny has withdrawn from Ivory Coast's AFCON 2027 qualifiers after a muscle problem picked up against Como. With Lautaro Martínez still recovering, Inter face Atalanta and Stuttgart with both strikers in doubt.

Ange-Yoan Bonny will not play for Ivory Coast against Gambia. The Inter striker picked up a muscle problem late in Sunday’s 2-0 Serie A win over Como. On Monday, November 9, the Ivorian Football Federation said he would sit out matchdays 3 and 4 of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers for medical reasons. The statement gave no further details about his condition.

The timing is poor for Inter. Lautaro Martínez is still out, and the squad is thin up front. The next two games are a trip to Atalanta and a Champions League visit from Stuttgart.

Bonny will spend the break working on his recovery in Milan

Bonny will go back to Milan rather than join the national team. That lets him use the international break to work on his recovery. He was due to have further tests on Tuesday. Neither the federation nor Inter has said how serious the injury is. There is also no word on how long he could be out.

The forward turned 23 in October. He has three goals in 14 Serie A and Champions League appearances for Inter this season. He also has seven senior caps for Ivory Coast.

Head coach Hervé Renard called up Oumar Diakité as the replacement. Diakité had been left out of the original 25-man squad. He is on loan at Sturm Graz from Stade de Reims. The first leg kicks off at 19:00 at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké. Bakau, in Gambia, stages the return leg.

Lautaro’s hamstring leaves two strikers in doubt for Atalanta

Lautaro has his own fitness question to answer. On October 15, tests at the Humanitas institute in Rozzano showed a muscle strain in his left hamstrings. His return was still to be reassessed in November. Sky Sport had named the Atalanta game as the target for his comeback.

That leaves both strikers as doubts for the next two fixtures. The picture is consistent with a stretched attack, though the length of Bonny’s absence remains unknown.

Esposito scored in the 12th minute and Thuram in the 19th against Como at San Siro on Matchday 11. The win moved Inter to 28 points, one behind Lazio.

Kickoff for Atalanta against Inter on Matchday 12 is set for 20:45 CET. Stuttgart’s visit to San Siro, on Matchday 5 of the Champions League league phase, starts at 21:00 CET.