The Ghana national team, nicknamed the Black Stars, has announced its 27-man squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cameroon, with notable absences being Thomas Partey, Tariq Lamptey, Abdul Baba Rahman and Fatahu Issahaku.
Addressing the media in Accra after unveiling his squad today, coach Chris Hughton explained Partey’s omission was due to his ongoing recovery from injury. The Black Stars will deeply feel the loss of Partey, a stalwart in midfield who has been instrumental to the team’s success.
“Thomas Partey is one of our most important players,” Coach Chris Hughton said.
“Without his injury, he certainly would be in the squad; we know the quality of player that he is. This is a player that suffered a substantial injury.
“I’ve spent a lot of this period of time with Thomas and also engaged the medical staff at Arsenal. They will treat this injury with caution, and so will the player. This is a big injury for him, the biggest injury he’s had.”
Lamptey is another player who will miss the tournament due to injury despite the right-back’s initial inclusion in the provisional squad. His absence sparks questions on who will fill the role for the Black Stars, but he will now miss the continental competition as he continues his recovery.
In addition, left back Abdul Baba Rahman and young midfielder Fatahu Issahaku have also opted out from the AFCON squad to concentrate on club commitments.
Three players from the Ghana Premier League earned call-ups, including Richmond Lamptey from Asante Kotoko, Hamid Abdul Fatawu, and Jonathan Sowah from Medeama, with the latter two getting their first national team nods.
The omissions of Partey, Lamptey, Rahman and Issahaku are big blows to Ghana’s chances at AFCON. The Black Stars will be looking to improve on their performance from the last AFCON in 2019, where they were knocked out in the round of 16.
Ghana is in Group B alongside Egypt, Mozambique, and Cape Verde. They will begin their tournament campaign against Cape Verde on January 14th. Hughton and his technical team now face the difficult task of strategizing for the group stage matches without four of Ghana’s best players.
The Black Stars have a proud history at AFCON, having won the tournament four times previously. The squad will be hoping to capture the trophy again this year, but will have to overcome the significant losses to meet high expectations.
