Morocco’s injured midfielder Harit joins teammates at World Cup

Amine Harit will continue to receive treatment for his knee injury while in Qatar to watch the semifinal against France.

Morocco's Amine Harit in action against Iran in the 2018 World Cup in Saint Petersburg, Russia [File: Dylan Martinez/Reuter]
Morocco's Amine Harit in action against Iran in the 2018 World Cup in St Petersburg, Russia [File: Dylan Martinez/Reuters]

Morocco midfielder Amine Harit – originally chosen to play at the World Cup but injured one week before the start of the tournament – has arrived in Qatar to be with his teammates in a show of solidarity ahead of their crucial semifinal match against France on Wednesday.

Harit, 25, was welcomed by teammates on Monday, several of whom posted pictures with him on social media. He has moved in with the squad at their base in Doha and will continue his treatment for a knee injury with the Moroccan team’s medical staff.

Morocco’s captain Romain Saiss posted a photo on Instagram featuring him and Harit, writing: “Finally among us … May God heal you … This adventure is also yours.”

Harit also posted images on social media of him reuniting with squad members.

 

Just days before he was due to depart for the World Cup, Harit suffered a serious cruciate ligament sprain in his left knee playing a club match for Olympique de Marseille against Monaco in Ligue 1 on November 13.

Most of Harit’s teammates had already landed in Qatar when he sustained the injury, which saw him carried off the pitch on a stretcher. The images of the badly injured Harit broke Moroccan hearts and local media outlets were flooded with messages of support from his teammates preparing for their World Cup campaign in Qatar.

“As you can imagine, beyond the physical pain, it’s hard to see the World Cup dream fly by a few hours before being able to live it,” an injured Harit said on Twitter at that time.

On Tuesday Harit posted: “The Dream” followed by a heart emoji and a Morocco flag.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies