Achraf Hakimi couldn’t hide his smile on Monday night. The Morocco captain finally returned to competitive action during the Atlas Lions’ convincing 3–0 victory over Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations, nearly two months after suffering a serious left ankle injury.
Introduced in the 64th minute in place of Noussair Mazraoui, the PSG right-back immediately reclaimed the captain’s armband, which had been worn by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou during his absence. It marked a long-awaited return to the pitch for Hakimi, who had not played since early November.
“I Missed This Feeling”
Hakimi’s injury dates back to November 4, when he was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Bayern Munich winger Luis Díaz during PSG’s 2–1 Champions League defeat. The defender left the pitch in tears, fearing not only the severity of the injury but also the possibility of missing the Africa Cup of Nations in his home country.
While tests ruled out a fracture, the diagnosis of a severe ankle sprain triggered a race against time. On Monday, Hakimi finally completed that comeback — and the emotion was evident.
“I missed this feeling. On to the next round,”
Hakimi wrote on social media after the match.
The message quickly resonated, gathering more than 325,000 likes, including reactions from PSG teammate Ousmane Dembélé and close friend Kylian Mbappé, who had previously been spotted in the stands wearing Morocco’s jersey during the draw against Mali.
Regragui: “His Return Does Us a Lot of Good”
With the win, Morocco finished top of their group and booked a place in the round of 16, where they will face one of the third-placed teams from Groups C, D or E.
Morocco head coach Walid Regragui was pleased to reintroduce his captain carefully while managing his workload.
“We were able to spread the minutes and make substitutions quite early,”
Regragui explained.
“We also protected Achraf. My role is to preserve the players so they can grow into the tournament. It’s up to me to make the right choices and manage things properly.”
Hakimi’s return strengthens Morocco both on the pitch and mentally as the knockout phase approaches — and offers an encouraging signal for PSG ahead of his eventual return to club duty.
