A Tottenham Hotspur star recovered from his knee injury and played nearly an hour of football on Saturday, which was just his second competitive outing of the season.
Bissouma is one of two Tottenham players currently at the African Cup of Nations, with Pape Sarr also linking up with the Mali squad for the competition.
Some Spurs fans may have been surprised when the midfielder was picked for the AFCON, given that he only had knee surgery in October following an injury he suffered in a World Cup qualifier, which remains his only appearance of the season.
The 29-year-old is yet to feature for Spurs under Thomas Frank, but last week, Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet revealed that Tottenham are working closely with the Mali staff on Bissouma’s fitness.
Tottenham midfielder comes through AFCON fixture unscathed
The Tottenham star played no part in Mali’s tournament opener against Zambia, but he did start in his nation’s clash against tournament hosts Morocco on Saturday.
Bissouma wore the captain’s armband for Mali, who emerged with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, a result which keeps them very much in the running for qualification for the knockout stages.
The former Brighton man completed 57 minutes before being replaced by Feyenoord’s Gaoussou Diarra, and the West African nation now know that a win against Comoros will guarantee them progress to the next round.
Pape Matar Sarr is yet to feature in AFCON
While Bissouma will be hoping to play a major part in Mali’s upcoming fixtures, it has been a frustrating experience for Sarr at the AFCON.
The Tottenham midfielder has been an unused substitute for Senegal in their 3-0 win against Botswana and their 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
With Senegal now big favourites to progress to the knockout stages, Thomas Frank will likely have to do without the 23-year-old for another week or two.