Gideon Mensah Out Of Ghana Squad For AFCON Qualifier

Gideon Mensah will not be part of Ghana’s squad for this weekend’s match against Madagascar in the Africa Cup of Nation qualifier, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced.

Although he had reported to the camp on Monday just like many other players, he was ruled out after an assessment found him unfit for the game.

The defender was diagnosed with a knee injury he sustained in the course of the just-ended season.

“Gideon picked up a knee injury during the season but his club managed him conservatively until the end of the season. Upon assessment in camp on Monday, we decided to excuse him from this game in order not to aggravate the injury” Team medical head, Dr. Prince Pambo is quoted to have said.

“We expect him to have enough rest during the break to be able to recover on time for next season” Dr Pambo added.

There are now a 24 players on Chris Hughton’s list.

These include Ati-Zigi, Joseph Wollacott, Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew, Inaki Williams, Kwasi Okyere Wriedt, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Majeed Ashimeru, Salis Abdul Samed and Edmund Addo.

The rest are Denis Odoi, Alidu Seidu, Patrick Kpozo, Daniel Amartey, Joseph Aidoo, Alexander Djiku, Nicholas Opoku, Joseph Painstil, Osman Bukari, KamalDeen Sulemana, Ernest Nuamah and Hafiz Konkoni.

They had their first training on Monday afternoon at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The team will depart for Antananarivo on Friday, June 16, for the clash against Madagascar on June 18 at Stade Kianja Barea at 17:00 GMT.