The Ivory Coast have booked their place in the Quarter-Finals of the African Cup of Nations which means that a whole host of players will have their return to the Premiership delayed, although their progress could well be sending the Nigerian contingent in the Premiership home early.

The Ivory Coast will play Mali on Tuesday but are guaranteed a passage through to the next round regardless, having recorded two wins out of two. That round of games will be played on February 3-4 which means that the earliest that players involved can return to Premiership action will be for the fixtures played out on February 9-11. Toure, Eboue, Drogba, Kalou, Zokoroa, Meite and Reading’s Fae are therefore all out of action until that date at the very earliest.

Mali need just a draw from that game to also progress at the expense of Nigeria. That will mean that Obi, Kanu, Martins, Etuhu, Utaka and the Everton pair – Yobo and Yakubu, could well be available for the Premiership games on February 2-3, although there is a high chance that some or all of these players will be rested by their clubs.

As a side note, Arsenal’s Toure is out of the Mali game having torn his groin. The extent of the injury is yet to be fully assessed with conflicting reports coming out of the Ivorian’s camp.

Elsewhere, Ghana and Egypt are looking very strong and almost certain to progress in their groups with Essien, Muntari, Pantsil and Shawky all set for prolonged stays.

Group C, involving Senegal and South Africa, play their second round of matches later today which will give us more clues as to the availability of Pienaar, Mokoena, Diouf, Bouba Diop, Beye, Faye, Kamara and Sonko.

I’ll bring you more updates on player availability from the African Cup of Nations as the tournament progresses. Keep watching the news and the Injuries and Bans table for details.