Hughton Squad Reduced To 24 After Painstil Departure
Head coach of the Black Stars, Chris Hughton is down by one man after Joseph Painstil left the national team for his club yesterday.
The Ghana Football Association on Tuesday communicated the winger was granted permission to leave the camp due to an injury.
He is said to have sustained the injury in the last period of his League game against Anderlecht on Sunday during which he was later substituted.
He becomes the eighth Black Star player to be ruled out due to injury after Thomas Partey, Daniel Amartey, Majeed Ashimeru, Joseph Wollacott, Kamal Deen Sulemana, Mohammed Salisu, and Benjamin Tetteh.
Their injuries were sustained between July and August and were mostly during training sessions with their respective Clubs.
“The player will return to his club immediately to commence rehabilitation,” the FA said.
Ghana’s squad now included Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Richard Ofori (Goalkeepers); Alidu Seidu, Kingsley Schindler, Stephan Ambrosius, Joseph Aidoo, Alexander Djiku, Nicholas Opoku, Baba Abdul Rahman, Gideon Mensah (Defenders); Abdul Samed Salis, Baba Iddissu, Andre Ayew, Elisha Owusu, Edmund Addo, Mohammed Kudus, Ransford Koningsdorffer (Midfielders); and Inaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo, Jordan Ayew, Ernest Nuamah, Osman Bukari and Jonathan Sowah (Forwards).
After failing at a win in the qualifier against Madagascar in June, the Black Stars will have a crucial game against the CAR in the hope of securing one of the ten remaining slots in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
So far, 14 nations including Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Mali have qualified for the AFCON.
