Esperance will be without star midfielder Youssef Msakni in Sunday's Champions League final first leg against Ahli. The 22-year-old has been forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove the appendix, only two days before the eagerly-anticipated clash in Cairo. “Msakni had an operation to remove the appendix early on Thursday. He will be out for seven days," Esperance official Munzir Al-Chaouachi told Reuters. Msakni, who will join Qatar's Lekhwiya in January, is considered the highest-valued player in Arab football history, having signed for the Gulf side for a fee of $15million. The Tunisian wonderkid is a key figure for Nabil Maaloul's Esperance, who will host Ahli in the return leg on November 17.
