Jordan Ayew: Crystal Palace boss confirms Ghanaian's return after disappointing AFCON campaign

• Like Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew is also in line to be integrated back to his club’s squad immediately after an AFCON exit
• Ayew’s Ghana suffered a shock exit in the group stages after finishing bottom of Group C
• Palace boss Patrick Vieira hinted that Ayew would make a return on Sunday against Liverpool

Ghana international Jordan Ayew will have no time to mop about his nation’s disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign as he is set to be included in Crystal Palace’s squad against Liverpool.

Palace face Liverpool in a tough Premier League encounter on Sunday, January 23 and Eagles boss Patrick Vieira confirmed that Ayew would likely feature in that game.

The Black Stars are one of the shock early departures from AFCON and their fate was sealed after a shock 3-2 defeat to Comoros.

A draw against Gabon coupled with a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in their opening game meant the Black Stars finished bottom of Group C with a solitary point.

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Their final game against Comoros was also calamitous as Jordan’s brother Andre Ayew was given his marching orders in the first half.

Asked whether Ayew was a possibility to start against Liverpool, Vieira said:

"We don’t know, we still have a couple of days before the game. He was in today and took part in the first part of training. We will have a discussion tomorrow [Saturday] to find out how he’s feeling.”

Despite the return of Ayew, Palace are still missing the services of Wilfried Zaha and Cheikhou Kouyaté who are still in Cameroon with Ivory Coast and Senegal respectively.

The slight boost for Palace is the fact that Liverpool are also missing the services of Mohammed Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Naby Keita (Guinea).

Despite Liverpool missing their best attackers, Vieira refused to underestimate Jurgen Klopp’s side, who are the closest rivals to runaway leaders Manchester City.

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“This is a team,” the Palace manager added. “It’s not just about those two players they’re missing. Obviously with those two [Salah and Mané] they’re stronger but there are still players playing really well with fantastic talents.”

Liverpool recently secured a ticket to the next round of the Carabao Cup after seeing off Arsenal 2-0.

Partey apologises for red card in Arsenal defeat

The Arsenal-Liverpool semi-final second leg was one to forget for Thomas Partey, who was sent off in his first game since Ghana’s exit from the AFCON.

Only hours after his return, Partey was included in Mikel Arteta’s line up but failed to make an impact.

The Ghanaian has since issued an apology to Arsenal for the red card.