Ivory Coast are set to kick-off their opening Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, match against Guinea Bissau on Saturday.
The West African nation’s coach Jean-Louis Gasset said there is a likelihood that Haller may also miss Ivory Coast’s second game — a highly anticipated clash against Nigeria’s “Super Eagles.”
There were also fitness concerns about forward Nicolas Pepe who was recalled to the squad after being dropped last year due to a struggle with a knee injury, Gasset said.
"Pepe played 30 minutes in last Saturday’s friendly (a 5-1 win over Sierra Leone) but is still not fully fit. He suffered a knee injury at Trabzonspor last month and we have been bringing him along slowly."
The Ivorians remain overwhelming favorites against their west African opponents, with increasing expectations about their chances of success in the tournament.
Prior to his appointment to lead the Ivorian team 20 months ago, Gasset had never been to Africa, but he is charged with winning the Cup of Nations for the host nation.
The 70-year-old, with extensive Ligue 1 experience and formerly an assistant coach of France under Laurent Blanc, said it had been a swift learning experience, but an exciting challenge and he was relishing the opportunity.
"I want to savor the event and appreciate the environment and the experience," Gasset told a press conference on Friday.
"We feel the pressure, but I don’t think it’s an additional pressure. My objective is to turn this pressure into something positive, a drive to give us confidence. This pressure has a very good aspect to it, and we must take advantage of it and this is the message I’ve been giving my squad."
Gasset warned that Guinea-Bissau, their opponents in the first Group A match, are a quality team.
"We want to start well but with due respect to our opponents, who are very dangerous at counter attacks but we need to dominate the game," he said, adding, "they have beaten Nigeria in the qualifiers and we know they have good players especially Mama Balde, who now plays at Lyon."
Guinea-Bissau are yet to win a game at the finals and are 103rd in the FIFA rankings, 54 places below the Ivorians.
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