The Real Mallorca ace will sit out Tuesday’s tie due to injury, the Ghana Football Association has announced.
Real Mallorca midfielder Mohammed Iddrisu Baba has been ruled out of Ghana’s final group game against Comoros at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
According to an announcement by the Ghana Football Association on Monday, the 25-year-old’s absence is a result of a hamstring injury sustained during Friday’s 1-1 draw with Gabon in their second group game.
He was substituted in the 65th minute after failing to recover from the incident, his place taken by Joseph Paintsil.
‘’The scan results revealed Oedema in his hamstring and so at the moment he can’t play against Comoros on Tuesday,’’ Ghana team doctor Adam Baba told the GFA media upon their return from the Garoua Military hospital on Monday.
Baba’s absence will be a massive blow to Ghana’s hopes of finding their first win at the continental showpiece this year.
In their opening game, the Black Stars suffered a 1-0 loss to Morocco by a Sofiane Boufal late strike for the Atlas Lions.
On Friday, Ghana looked headed for a win against Gabon, captain Andre Ayew having given the side a first-half lead, before Jim Allevinah netted late to level the score.
The result has left the Black Stars third on the table in Group C, with a dire need of three points to make it to the knock-out stage of the competition.
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac addressed their underwhelming performances during a pre-match presser for the upcoming game on Monday.
He said: “The biggest obstacle was, we didn’t have preparations as planned and we didn’t have much time. Of course, it’s not an excuse, it’s a simple fact and we are trying to improve every department of the team.
“About the goalscoring, we are trying to make things count by scoring more goals, it’s something that we are thinking about and trying to solve every day.
“We are going to sort it out so expect the team to be more efficient in attack and be more concentrated in the last stage of the match.”
Ghana will need to win at all costs to stand a chance of making it to the next stage of the competition.
Source: Goal