Malabo - When the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations begins this weekend, some of the biggest names on the continent will be missing for a variety of reasons.
AFP Sport takes a look at five stars who will not grace the tournament in Equatorial Guinea:
- DEMBA BA
Senegal coach Alain Giresse surprised many when he did not even include the prolific Ba in his preliminary squad for the finals. The 29-year-old French-born striker, formerly of Newcastle United and Chelsea, is the leading scorer for Besiktas this season, with his 16 goals in 19 games propelling them into title contention in Turkey and helping them into the knockout stage in the Europa League.
Giresse has plenty of options in attack, with Ba's former Newcastle colleague Papiss Demba Cisse, Mame Biram Diouf of Stoke City, Sadio Mane of Southampton and Fenerbahce's Moussa Sow all included. However, Ba, who played at the 2012 Cup of Nations could scarcely contain his anger when he discovered that he had been dropped.
"I can't wait to hear his excuses and destroy them one by one," he wrote of Giresse in a Twitter post, before later telling Senegalese media that his coach had cited an ankle problem for leaving him out.