Pascal Feindouno, Guinea's star player and captain, faces a two-match ban for his moment of madness in Thursday's 3-2 defeat of Morocco, leaving coach Robert Nouzaret with a major void in his side.
Guinea's best player scored twice in the Group A win in Accra, but minutes after securing the second goal of his double he was red carded.
Responding to provocation, Feindouno lashed out and kicked Amin al-Erbate on the shin to leave Guinea a man down for the remaining half an hour.
"It's not going to be easy, he's a hugely talented player. I'm waiting to hear from the authorities but he could be out for the next two matches," Nouzaret told AFP on Friday.
Guinea's victory, after their loss to Ghana in their opening match, has put them back in the race for the knockout stages which means they may have to face a quarter final against the winners or runners up of Group B without their leading man.
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"It's very important but I'll just have to find a different format without Pascal."
Robert Nouzaret,
Guinea coach |
"I'll have to find a solution, but there's no player like him," said Nouzaret.
"The minute the referee sent him off I thought of the consequences.
"It's very important but I'll just have to find a different format without Pascal."
A dubious distinction
The 26-year-old striker's starring performances for his country have earned him Maradona-style adulation from the fans back in Conakry where he has his own club - FC Feindouno.
He is vital to Guinea as he can operate wide or in the centre, dribble, strike long-range goals, set up team-mates with millimeter-perfect passes.
The Saint Etienne player put Guinea into an 11th-minute lead against Morocco with a delightful curling free-kick which sneaked past the Moroccan defence by the unattended near post.
In the second half, he set up Ismael Bangoura for Guinea's second, and then with the score at 2-1 he put Guinea further ahead with a coolly taken penalty, only to ruin the moment seconds later when he clashed with Erbate.
Feindouno earned the dubious distinction of being the first player to be sent off at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.