Zambia's Africa Cup of Nations hopes have been dealt a blow by the news that Nathan Sinkala will miss the rest of the tournament because of a knee injury.
TP Mazembe midfielder Sinkala suffered the injury during Sunday's 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
And the severity of the problem has now been revealed, with the team doctor confirming that Sinkala will need to spend at least four weeks on the sidelines.
A statement on the Football Association of Zambia's (FAZ) Facebook page read: "Zambian midfield dynamo Nathan Sinkala has been ruled out of the #2015Afcon finals.
"Sinkala suffered a knee injury during Zambia's match against Congo DR last evening.
"Team Doctor Joseph Kabungo has informed fazfootball.com that Sinkala will need at least four weeks to heal."
Sinkala has appeared at the last two AFCON tournaments for Zambia, scoring a penalty as they beat the Ivory Coast in a shoot-out in the 2012 final.
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