Injured Ghana captain Mensah to miss African Nations Cup

Ghana captain John Mensah will miss this month’s African Nations Cup finals after picking up a hamstring injury, the Ghana Football Association said on Friday.

Mensah, who suffered the injury playing for Sunderland in the English Premier League, joins fellow defender John Paintsil on the sidelines after the Fulham player twisted his knee last weekend.

Ghana have named Jonathan Mensah, who has just moved to Italian side Udinese from Free State Stars in South Africa, as a replacement for Mensah, while Paintsil will be replaced by Twente Enschede’s Ransford Osei for the tournament in Angola.

Ghana had on Thursday called up Derek Boateng to replace Paintsil but said his Spanish club Getafe had refused to release him citing a FIFA rule that requires national associations to give clubs two weeks’ notice before calling up their players.

Ghana are in Group B with Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo for the tournament which starts on January 10.

Reuters.