Gambia have cancelled their two prep matches for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations due to a surfeit of Covid-19 cases in their squad, AFP reports.

The decision comes just hours before they were due to play Algeria in Doha — the other match was against Syria on Tuesday.

“Due to the unavailability of 16 of our 28-man squad, our friendlies ahead of the Cup of Nations against Algeria and Syria have both been cancelled,” the Gambian Football Federation said in a statement.

The team's Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet explained via Facebook that the swathe of absences were due to “Covid, other illness, injuries and restrictions to travel.”