Toure to miss Elephants' opener

The Elephants will miss Toure as they take on Malawi in Abidjan

Ivory Coast will be without Barcelona's Yaya Toure for this weekend's crucial World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi.

The midfielder is expected to be sidelined for two weeks after picking up a thigh injury in his side's 6-0 thrashing of Malaga on Sunday.

The Elephants open their final round of qualifiers against Group E opponents Malawi in Abidjan on Sunday.

They are chasing a second consecutive World Cup finals appearance.

The Ivorians' main rivals in the group are Guinea, who they face away on 6 June.

They also take on Burkina Faso away on 20 June.