El Hajjam on Morocco standby as Dirar struggles for fitness


FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco v Amiens SC - Stade Louis II, Monaco, France - April 28, 2018 Amiens' Oualid El Hajjam after the match REUTERS/Jean-Pierre Amet

TALLINN (Reuters) - Morocco have put French-born defender Oualid El Hajjam on standby as a potential injury replacement for the World Cup as right back Nabil Dirar continues to battle with a calf problem on the eve of the finals, officials said on Saturday.

Dirar has been ruled out of Morocco's final warm-up against Estonia in Tallinn on Saturday, meaning he has now missed all three friendlies played by the north Africans over the last fortnight before heading to Russia, where they have testing assignments in Group B against Iran, Portugal and Spain.

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