Morocco will be without star forward Ismael Saibari for their World Cup quarter-final showdown against France, with head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirming the injury blow while holding out hope his tournament isn’t over just yet.

The 25-year-old has been a standout performer throughout Morocco’s World Cup run, starting all five of the Atlas Lions’ matches and finding the net in three of their group-stage games. His performances for former club PSV and on the international stage even earned him a move to Bayern Munich last month.

However, Saibari was forced off just 20 minutes into Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada in the previous round after picking up a hamstring injury.

Speaking on Wednesday about his availability for the France clash, Ouahbi didn’t sugarcoat the situation but stayed hopeful about a quicker recovery: “He’s not ready, but I hope it’s not the end of the tournament for him.”

Saibari has been central to Morocco’s attacking threat this tournament, having scored 12 goals in 35 appearances for the national team overall, four of which have come at major international tournaments.

With Saibari sidelined, Soufiane Rahimi looks the likely man to step into the starting XI. The 30-year-old, primarily a centre-forward who has been used out wide for Morocco, came on as his replacement in last week’s win over Canada and could get the nod to start against France.

Morocco have been solid defensively, keeping two clean sheets across their five World Cup fixtures so far. But they now face a stern examination against Didier Deschamps’ formidable France side in the quarter-final, a game that will test the Atlas Lions’ depth following Saibari’s untimely injury.