Patrick Vieira has called up Union Saint-Gilloise defender Massire Sylla after Mamadou Sarr withdrew from the Senegal squad because of a left-calf injury.

The 21-year-old, who stands 1.96m tall, has been added to the squad for Senegal’s two matches against Sudan on 12 and 16 November. The games are part of the third and fourth rounds of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The Senegal Football Federation confirmed on Sunday that Sylla had been selected for the fixtures. His form for Union Saint-Gilloise has earned him the opportunity, with the central defender having started 16 of the club’s 17 matches this season, scoring once and providing two assists.

Sylla was developed by Diambars before spells with Pau and Norwegian club Lyn. Although primarily a centre-back, he can play on either side of central defence and is also capable of operating as a defensive midfielder.

His selection means Vieira has now introduced 12 new players to the Senegal squad since taking charge.

Ngagne Demba Thiam of Monza, Mamour Ndiaye of Saint-Etienne, Malang Sarr of Neom, Sadibou Sane of Monaco, Arouna Sangante of Seville, Lamine Sy of Auxerre, Issa Soumare of Rennes and Pape Moussa Fall of Metz were first called up during the previous international window.

Pathe Mboup of Brest, Clayton Diandy of Al-Diriyah and Paul Mendy of Cagliari were then included in Vieira’s initial squad for this week’s matches.

Sylla will now hope to make his first appearance for Senegal during the two-match series against Sudan.