Will Ramy Bensebaini play for Algeria in Niger friendly?
Algerian star Ramy Bensebaini has had an eventful international window. In both of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Borussia Dortmund centre-back had a shaky start - even gifting Burundi a goal with a rookie mistake - before he eventually found his feet and settled in.
On Tuesday, the Desert Warriors play one more international match before wrapping it up for the month as a home friendly to Niger beckons. The purpose of playing an inconsequential friendly after two high-pressure qualifying games is anyone's guess, but the question for Borussia Dortmund supporters is, should Ramy Bensebaini play?
Changes expected in Algerian lineup
Accoring to reports, Algerian head coach Brahim Hemdani is set to ring in the changes. Anis Hadj Moussa and Adem Zorgane have been released from the squad after picking up injuries in their last clash and will miss the friendly game tomorrow in Tizi Ouzou. Manchester City ace Rayan Ait-Nouri had already left the camp following an altercation with Hemdani during their match against Zambia.
Himad Abdelli is also unavailable with a knock he sustained in their last match against Burundi.
There's no mention of Bensebaini anywhere in the face of potential changes. He's fit and still with the squad, but may be dropped to the bench here in what's essentially a pointless friendly.
Moreover, his Dortmund manager Niko Kovac had also personally called up the head coaches of every national team that features a BVB player to urge not to overload his players with gametime. And with the Bundesliga giants set to play just three days after Algeria's friendly with Niger tomorrow, it'd be wise of Hemdani to rest the BVB centre-back.
Dortmund can't afford more defensive injuries
Then there's the question of injuries too. Dortmund have already suffered two and both have been defensive casualties: Nico Schlotterbeck sustained a knock while training with the German squad that ruled him out of their last two Nations League fixtures, while Julian Ryerson also left the Norwegian squad after injuring himself shortly into their clash with Wales a few days prior.
With Filippo Mane also currently in the recovering room, an injury to Bensebaini would further hamper their prospects in defense. They are already stretched, and the BVB have to negotiate a tough fixture list ahead that sees them play nine times in a space of just 35 days, and the Algerian defender would be needed in almost all the games.
