Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku has defended the decision not to compel Antoine Semenyo to return to Ghana for further medical checks after the forward withdrew from the Black Stars squad.
Semenyo was initially included in Carlos Queiroz’s squad for Ghana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign but was later ruled out as he continues to recover from a leg injury.
Okraku explained that Semenyo had been in communication with Queiroz and was prepared to travel to Ghana if the technical team and medical staff deemed it necessary.
According to the GFA president, however, the player’s swollen leg meant that bringing him to Ghana for another assessment would not have changed his availability for the upcoming matches.
“Antoine and the coach spoke, and he told the coach, ‘If you need me, I will come down for the medical team to re-examine me. But the truth is that my leg is swollen, and we need to treat it,’” Okraku said on Asempa FM.
He said the priority was therefore to allow the player to continue his rehabilitation so that he could recover fully and be available for future commitments with both his club and country.
Okraku noted that forcing Semenyo to travel to Ghana for an MRI, only to send him back without playing, would have served little purpose given the circumstances.
“As a leader, if you want to know your players, and in this particular case, we know the players and how honest they are when it comes to situations like this, you’d have to ask yourself whether you’d allow Antoine to continue with his recovery and be ready for Man City and for Ghana during the next window, or have Antoine fly down to Ghana to undergo an MRI and then ask him to go back because he can’t play. His leg is swollen,” he added.
Semenyo’s withdrawal leaves the Black Stars without one of their attacking options for the opening stages of the qualifiers.
Ghana begin their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign against Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké on Thursday before hosting The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 27.
