Mali made two late changes to its African Cup of Nations squad because of injuries Friday, bringing in defender Ousmane Berthe and midfielder Souleymane Keita to replace Mohamed Fofana and Kalilou Traore.
Spokesman Souleymane Diallo said Mali had informed the tournament's medical commission of the changes to its squad. Teams are allowed to replace injured players up to 24 hours before the country's opening game.
Mali, the main challenger to Ghana in Group D, opens its Cup of Nations campaign against Guinea in Franceville on Tuesday before facing the four-time champion Black Stars on Jan. 28 - also at Stade de Franceville.
Traore had been struggling with a knee injury which he failed to recover from, while Fofana picked up a thigh knock in a warmup game.
Mali had already lost Auxerre defender Amadou Sidibe to injury.
