Algeria midfielder Mourad Meghni has been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury.

The Lazio playmaker, who has become an important part of Rabah Saadane's team in recent months, had been told that a knee injury he had been carrying will not heal in time for the tournament, which begins in South Africa on June 11.

Speaking to television station Arryadia immediately after the announcement, Meghni said: "I'm very sad about this. I've been fighting this injury for months but it didn't heal properly. It would have been risky for me to play and things could have gotten even worse."