With just five days to the first leg of the game against the Super Eagles, Ghana striker Jordan Ayew has tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
As a result, Ayew will reportedly miss Ghana’s first-leg clash with Nigeria in the playoff round of the qualifiers to the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament.
The Black Stars will take on its age-old rivals in a two-legged tie in the final round of the African qualifiers for this year’s global tournament.
At a time when Ghana is not having the strongest squad, it had hoped to have the services of experienced players to fight to overcome Nigeria.
With the COVID positive result, Ayew is forced to isolate himself at his base in England where he plays for Crystal Palace.
While it is unclear when he could recover and test negative for COVID-19, Ghana must assume he will miss the first leg of the Nigeria clash and plan accordingly, reports modernghana.com
That game is scheduled to be played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Friday, February 25, 2022.
Meanwhile, ahead of the games, the Ghana Football Association [GFA] have released a program lineup for the Black Stars before the first leg game on Friday.
With the invited players expected to arrive in Ghana at the weekend, the squad would hit Kumasi today to begin preparation in earnest for the crucial game with the first training session on Wednesday.
Like their Nigerian counterparts, the Black Stars will have their first official training at the match venue on Thursday while coach Otto Addo and players will hold media engagement same day.
The eagerly awaited Qatar 2022 World Cup play-off first leg tie between the Black Stars and Super Eagles will take place at the Baba Yara Stadium on Friday.
The second leg tie has been scheduled to kick off at the Abiola National Stadium next Tuesday 29 in Abuja.