'He will stay here' - Ajax manager tells Black Stars after naming injured Kudus in AFCON squad

'He will stay here' - Ajax manager tells Black Stars after naming injured Kudus in AFCON squad

Lukman Mumuni
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:50 PM
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  • Ajax manager Erik Ten Hag has ruled out the possibility of Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus joining the Black Stars for AFCON 2021
  • Mohammed Kudus has been named in the 30-man provisional squad for the pre-AFCON camping in Qatar
  • The 21-year-old picked up an injury while playing for the Black Stars in the World Cup qualifiers against South Africa last month

Ghanaian midfielder, Mohammed Kudus will be missing AFCON 2021 after his manager at Ajax, Erik Ten Hag, stated the playing is staying in the Netherlands.

The skillful player suffered an injury while playing for Ghana in the World Cup qualifier against South Africa last month and he is yet to full recover.

However, Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac included the Ajax star to his 30-man provisional squad for the Nations Cup in Cameroon.

Mohammed Kudus with the Black Stars and Ajax. SOURCE: Twitter/ @AFCAjax @ghanafaofficial
'He will stay here' - Ajax manager tells Black Stars after naming injured Kudus in AFCON squad. SOURCE: Twitter/ @AFCAjax @ghanafaofficial
Source: Twitter

In quotes spotted by SportsBrief.com, Erik Ten Hag stated emphatically the player will stay with the club during the AFCON.

"It's very likely Mohammed will stay here. He has been injured four times in one and a half year and he is injured again with the national team," he said as quoted by De Telgraaf.
"If you want to participate in such a tournament, you must not only be injury-free but match fit. And of course he is definitely not. If he has to play matches in such a tough tournament in short time, the risk of injuries is great. He is not fit to play," he added.

Mohammed Kudus hobbled off after ten minutes of the game against South Africa, and has since yet to play a competitive game.

He is expected to return in January but he will need time to full recover from the setback.

Ghana begins the AFCON on January 10, 2022 in the game against Morocco.

Mohammed Kudus named in 30-man provisional squad

Earlier, SportsBrief.com reported that, Milovan Rajevac has named a 30-man provisional squad for next year's Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

The team includes four new players, with Khalid Abdul Mumin and Salis Abdul Samed earning their first ever call ups.

In a list released by the Ghana Football Association, the squad also includes four players from the Ghana Premier League.

Authors
Lukman Mumuni photo
Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.