2025 AFCON Qualifiers: 8 Black Stars Players Withdraw Ahead of Angola and Niger Games

Eight players have withdrawn from the Ghana Black Stars squad for their final two qualifying matches in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) due to various injuries and personal reasons, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced.

The affected players are Antoine Semenyo, Inaki Williams, Jonas Adjetey, Tariq Lamptey, Jerome Opoku, Alexander Djiku, Ibrahim Osman, and Joseph Painstil.

Here are the reasons for each withdrawal:

Inaki Williams: Hamstring injury since November 7.

Tariq Lamptey: Calf discomfort requiring rehabilitation.

Jonas Adjetey: Injury setback during a league match on November 9.

Jerome Opoku: Chronic back pain, aggravated during a match on November 10.

Antoine Semenyo: Patellar tendon issue due to an overload of games.

Alexander Djiku: Hamstring injury aggravated on November 10.

Ibrahim Osman: Hamstring injury from his recent match.

Joseph Painstil: Personal reasons.

The Black Stars will hold their first training session today at 17:00 GMT at the Accra Sports Stadium, open to the public. After their final session on Tuesday, the team will travel to Luanda for the Angola match on November 15, followed by a home game against Niger on November 18 at the Accra Sports Stadium. Ghana currently sits in third place in Group F with two points from four matches, trailing Angola and Sudan.