Essien, Muntari and Gyan are absent

The absence of the three players has caused huge consternation for Ghanaian football authorities and coach Milovan Rajevac.

Players had to be arranged in the last minute to fill in for Chelsea ace Essien, Inter Milan’s Muntari as well as Gyan of Rennes.

The Europe-based trio were part of coach Milovan Rajevac’s squad for the friendly against the 2010 African Cup of Nations hosts on Wednesday.

But it has now emerged that as the squad boarded the flight to Luanda on Monday night, the three players were unavailable and they could not be reached by phone.

This is the first act of gross indiscipline exhibited by players of the national team since this current Black Stars took shape.

The current state of affairs is causing immense anxiety in the country as the trio are seen to have disobeyed the national team handlers and taken the law into their own hands.

Even though the trio are key players for the Black Stars, their intentional absence is a serious test case for the Ghana Football Association.

With the African Cup of Nations and World Cup approaching these issues of indiscipline could wreck the chances of the Black Stars at the tournament.

Similar issues of indiscipline among some Black Stars players went unchecked in the 1990s and this resulted in their patchy form then even though it had key players like Abedi Pele and Anthony Yeboah.

Only two players, captain Stephen Appiah and Samuel Inkoom, were excused from the friendly match after seeking permission from the authorities to sort out problems with their European clubs.

Appiah must sort out his Italian work permit in the country embassy in Accra while Inkoom has a similar issue to deal with with his Swiss club FC Basel.

Rajeavc, a known disciplinarian, is expected to take action over the intentional absence of the three players as Muntari and Gyan are likely to suffer most when the axe falls.

Both players face tough competition for their position with Kwadwo Asamoah eyeing Muntari spot while Prince Tagoe and Dominic Adiyiah are vying for Gyan’s place.

Essien is likely to suffer in terms of his image has he has long been viewed as a committed player to the national cause.