Eight players withdraw from Ghana's 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Angola and Niger

Almost half of the players initially called up for Ghana's upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Angola and Niger have withdrawn from the squad.

A statement issued by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Monday, November 11, confirmed that Antoine Semenyo, Inaki Williams, Jonas Adjetey, Tariq Lamptey, Jerome Opoku, Alexander Djiku, Ibrahim Osman, and Joseph Paintsil will not be joining the Black Stars for various reasons.

Head Coach Otto Addo had unveiled a 25-man squad on Thursday, November 7, but the listed players will not participate due to injuries and personal issues.

With these withdrawals, Ghana’s chances of qualifying for the tournament have become more challenging, as the Black Stars now face the critical task of securing wins over Angola and Niger, while hoping Sudan fails to gain points in their own matches against the same teams.

The GFA provided the following details regarding the reasons behind each player’s withdrawal.

Inaki Williams: Hamstring injury picked up on November 7 and has since not been able to train.

Tariq Lamptey: Calf discomfort that got aggravated last week and currently undergoing rehabilitation with his club.

Jonas Adjetey: Jonas was on his way to full recovery but had a setback in their last League game on Saturday, November 9, 2024.

Jerome Opoku: Chronic back pain which got worse during a Super Lig game against Besiktas on Sunday, November 10. Jerome is currently undergoing rehabilitation with his club .

Antoine Semenyo: Nursing an injury of the patella tendon due to overload of games. The Club medical team thought it wise to use the break to refer him to a tendon specialist to prevent worsening of the injury.

Alexander Djiku: It’s an aggravation of an existing hamstring that got him substituted in their last game on Sunday, November 10, 2024.

Ibrahim Osman: He picked up a hamstring injury in his last outing for his club which got him substituted at half time.

Joseph Painstil: Personal

New additions

In the meantime, the GFA has called up six additional players to replace those who have withdrawn from the squad.

They are Osman Bukari (Austin FC), Ransford Yeboah Koningsdorffer (Hamburger SV), Forson Amankwah (Norwich City), Terry Yegbe (IF Elfsborg), Ebenezer Annan (OFK Beograd) and Kingsley Schindler (Samsunspor) 

Ghana will face Angola on Friday, November 15 and host Niger on Monday, November 18, 2024.