Ilias Akhomach injury hits équipe Du Maroc De Football before 2026
Ilias Akhomach left Rayo Vallecano's pre-match warm-up in tears before the second leg against Strasbourg, and that puts équipe du maroc de football on notice a little more than a month before the 2026 World Cup. The Moroccan winger had started Thursday night in the lineup at the Meinau before the suspected thigh injury forced him out of the session.
Akhomach at the Meinau
The injury appeared during shooting exercises, when he probably suffered a thigh tear. That is the immediate problem for Rayo and for Morocco, because the 22-year-old was already in line for a busy summer and had been expected to stay in the frame for the national team.
He did not just drift out of the picture. Akhomach was initially named to start against Strasbourg, then left the end of the warm-up in tears. That sequence leaves Morocco with a player whose availability for the World Cup now hinges on how serious the muscular injury proves to be.
Morocco's 26-player race
Mohamed Ouahbi may still include him in Morocco's group of 26 maximum players, but the injury means he will not be available at the start of the training camp. For a winger who has spent much of 2026 fighting for rhythm, that is a sharp setback at the worst possible time.
Akhomach's path to this point has been uneven. He was one of the favorites among Moroccan supporters at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations, but Walid Regragui used him sparingly and brought him on for Brahim Diaz in extra time. After that tournament, he was loaned to Rayo Vallecano.
Rayo Vallecano return
At club level, the numbers have been modest: one goal and one assist in 17 matches for Rayo Vallecano across league and Conference competition. Thursday's setback interrupts that run and adds more uncertainty to a season that had already offered little stability.
The wider consequence reaches beyond club football. Morocco are scheduled to face Brazil on 14 June in the outskirts of New York, and they will also play Scotland and Haiti, with a preparatory match against Norway currently on the calendar. For Akhomach, the next step is not a fixture but a recovery path that has to start quickly if he is to stay in the conversation for that squad.
