The 31-year-old signed off from Wolves by helping his club to a clean sheet and historic victory at Old Trafford but will now miss games against Sheffield United in the Emirates FA Cup and Southampton and Brentford in the Premier League.
The 24-team competition, taking place in Cameroon, sees Morocco placed in Group C alongside Ghana, Gabon and Comoros, and Saiss’ nation will open their account on Monday 10th January against Ghana.
Should Morocco finish in the top two of the group, they’ll enter the round of 16, taking place between 23rd and 25th January. After that, the quarter finals take place at the end of January and the semi-finals at the start of February.
On Sunday 6th February, the weekend of a potential Emirates FA Cup fourth round tie for Wolves should they beat Sheffield United, the Afcon final takes place at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.
Morocco have only previously won the Africa Cup of Nations once before, in 1976 when they beat Guinea in the final, but will be fancied to exit their group this year alongside Ghana.
Morocco’s Group C fixtures (UK time) are as follows:
- Morocco vs Ghana | Monday 10th January, 4pm
- Morocco vs Comoros | Friday 14th January, 4pm
- Gabon vs Morocco | Tuesday 18th February, 7pm
All Afcon ties, including those involving Saiss and Morocco, will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports.
