Diao is in a race to get fit for next month's Nations Cup finals

Senegal midfielder Salif Diao will have less than three weeks to prepare himself for next month's Nations Cup finals after damaging ankle ligaments.

Diao, who plays for English Premiership side Liverpool, suffered the injury on Tuesday while training and will not play again until January.

"He went over on his ankle and we expect he will be missing for three weeks," said Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier.

"There was no one else involved."

Diao is thus expected to return no earlier than 7 January, which will thus give the Teranga Lion just 19 days to prepare for Senegal's opening Group B game in Tunisia.

The 2002 Nations Cup runners-up meet Burkina Faso in their first match, and will then play Kenya and Mali.