Côte d’Ivoire began their 2015 AFCON preparation in Abu Dhabi

National coach Hervé Renard directed their first training session on Tuesday afternoon at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Sports Complex, in the absence of Wilfried Bony and the Touré brothers who are expected to join the rest of the group shortly.

However, injured Saint-Etienne duo Ismaël Diomandé and Max Gradel made it to the United Arab Emirates and should be able to fully recover before the tournament kicks off.

The Elephants will face Nigeria on January 11 and Sweden on January 15 in warm-up friendlies, before heading to Malabo where they will begin their continental campaign against Guinea on January 20.

Yaya Touré and his teammates will then face their two other Group D opponents, Mali and Cameroon.