With Afcon set to start on January 9, various key players will be missing a chance to represent their countries due to various reasons.
TeamKenya takes a look at the key absentees and what it means for the different nations that they would have represented.
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech is the highest profile absentee from this year's AFCON. The winger was dropped by Morocco manager Vahid Halilhodzic.
The left-footed dazzler refused to take to the pitch for a match against Ghana, citing an injury as his reason even though the medical team had passed him fit to play.
Ziyech and Halilhodzic engaged in a war of words on social media afterwards, with the 28-year-old winger calling his manager a liar.
Ziyech was born and raised in the Netherlands, but has scored 17 times in 40 appearances for Morocco. The winger has been excluded from the national side since his clash with Halilhodzic, and his omission from the squad in this year's AFCON is no surprise.
When asked about his decision, Halilhodzic stated that he did not want players with negative attitudes in his team, as it could lead to a problem for him. Ziyech will remain in London with Chelsea as his country pursues Afcon glory.
Joel Matip (Cameroon)
Liverpool defender Joel Matip is another star who will play no part in this year's AFCON.
Matip retired from international duty in 2015 without publicly declaring his decision, sparking controversy in Cameroon.
Back in 2017 Afcon the defender was selected, but he declined the invitation, citing his retirement as the reason, however, in his absence, Cameroon won the title.
Matip was born and raised in Germany and became a full Cameroon international in 2010. He played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a teenager, as well as in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Indomitable Lions would love to be able to call on the centre-back as they look to secure the big one but unfortunately Matip turned down the call from his country.
Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
Mazraoui's case is unusual because although it is a case of a fantastic player not going to play for his country.
Mazraoui won't be a big miss for Morocco as his position is filled by one of their best players Achraf Hakimi.
The reason Mazraoui will not play in the AFCON is because of his row with the national team manager Vahid Halilhodžić.
The Ajax player has had a good career with the likes of Barcelona and Leeds showing interest in having him in their squad.
This however has not mattered to Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who has blacklisted the utility man after accusing him of faking an injury.
Victor Osimhem (Nigeria)
Victor Osimhen, who is among the competition's potential Golden Boot winners, had battled back from a devastating facial injury to announce himself fit for the tournament, only for Covid to intervene.
The unavailability of Osimhen who was the top scorer in the Afcon qualifiers reduces Nigeria’s chances of winning the continental crown.
The Nigerian star can be considered among the unluckiest players in world football at the moment as every time he seems to hit form, some sort of injury inevitably derails his progress.
Osimhen would have been a key player in helping Nigeria get their first trophy since 2013 however that wasn't to be as the striker had to pull out after contracting Covid and failing to recover from facial fractures that required surgery.
Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria)
While his clubmate Ismaila Sarr does make the tournament, against Watford’s wishes, Dennis does not travel and remains at Vicarage Road.
Various reasons have been given for his non-participation in the tournament, with a lot of finger-pointing.
Given Nigeria’s many attacking absences, Dennis should have stepped into a key role at the Nations Cup.
According to Watford, Nigeria did not send a request to release Dennis within the deadline and hence the club reason for not releasing him.
Dennis has 8 goals and 5 assists already, putting him only behind Mohammed Salah for goal contributions in the league.
Another interesting thing about the conflict between club and country here is the fact that Watford let fellow Nigerian William Troost Ekong leave but not Dennis.