The defender was fit enough to take a place on the bench in Suez, but didn’t come on in the 1-0 win over Mali
Serge Aurier watched on from the substitute bench as his Ivory Coast team-mates made it through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Monday.
The defender picked up an injury in his nation's Group D match with Morocco in June, but was able to recover in time to be amongst the replacements for their round of 16 tie.
A close encounter occurred against Mali, but a 76th-minute effort by Wilfried Zaha sent Ivory Coast through to the next round.
With another few days rest, Aurier - captain of his country - will hope to start the last-eight match against Algeria in Suez, Egypt.
The Tottenham Hotspur right-back struggled with injuries throughout the 2018/19 season and picked up a hamstring issue last month.
But having appeared to shake it off, he will aim to end a mixed individual campaign on a high by helping his country to glory at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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