Riyad Mahrez out of Algeria match in Botswana for personal reasons

Friday 15 November 2019 17:46, UK

Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez has been excused from travelling to Botswana for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Monday for personal reasons.

The Manchester City winger provided an assist on Thursday as Algeria romped to a 5-0 home win over Zambia in Blida at the start of the 2021 Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Yet he did not travel on Friday for their second game in Group H because of what coach Djamel Belmadi termed a 'personal problem that requires us to let him go', without offering any further explanation.

The former Leicester man was one of Algeria's key figures when they won the 2019 Cup of Nations title in Egypt.