Ghana suffered a massive injury blow on Friday when influential midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah was ruled out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after his club Juventus confirmed the wing back would require surgery to correct a knee problem.
The Italy-based player will undergo the surgery on Tuesday which will rule him out of action for about two months which means he will not have recovered when the Africa Cup of Nations starts in Equatorial Guinea on 17 January which is under two months away.
Asamoah will be sidelined for six to eight weeks meaning that he will be unavailable for competitive football early February next year.
His absence means the Black Stars will be without its most creative midfielder as they seek to win the title for Africa's biggest football tournament.
The talented midfielder suffered the injury during Juventusââ¬â¢ 3-2 win over Olympiacos on 4 November and aggravated it when he played through the pain barrier against Empoli.
ââ¬ÅKwadwo Asamoahâ⬦ will fly to Barcelona next Tuesday for arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee after reporting continued pain in the region,â⬠read a statement on the clubââ¬â¢s official website.
ââ¬ÅThe operation will be performed by Dr. Ramon Cugat in Barcelona.ââ¬
Asamoah was on the verge of playing in his fifth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
He has made six Serie A appearances for Juventus this season.