The Cheetahs of Benin will be without their stalwart centre back Olivier Verdon when they take on Rwanda and Nigeria on June 6 and June 11 respectively in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.

Verdon had an impressive 2023/24 season with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad, scoring once in 24 games. He was one of the key players Benin's coach Gernot Rohr was banging his hopes on.

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The French-born player has had an injury which saw him sidelined since May. He was supposed to join the squad in Abidjan but he could not recover in time to feature for Benin’s two crucial matches against Rwanda and Nigeria.

Verdon, 28, becomes the second top Benin player to be out of the World Cup qualifiers after Andreas Hountondji also opted out due to injury.

Benin are bottom in Group C standings with one point from two games. They lost 2-1 to South Africa before drawing goalless with Lesotho.