AFCON 2027 qualifiers: ‘Antoine Semenyo’s leg is swollen’ – Ghana FA president defends Man City star over Ghana squad snub

Antoine Semenyo has withdrawn from Ghana’s squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after suffering a swollen leg, Ghana Football Association president Kurt Okraku has revealed.

The Manchester City forward will miss Ghana’s crucial qualifier against Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké on Thursday, as well as the subsequent fixture against The Gambia.

Semenyo’s withdrawal comes after he played the full 90 minutes and scored twice in Manchester City’s 5-3 Premier League victory over Sunderland on Sunday.

The 26-year-old was named Player of the Match following his influential display but admitted afterwards that he was “battered and bruised”.

Okraku says the swelling in Semenyo’s leg requires treatment, making it unnecessary to bring him to Ghana for further assessment when he may not be fit enough to play.

“Antoine [Semenyo] and the coach spoke, and he told the coach, ‘If you need me, I will come down for the medical team to re-examine me,'” Okraku told Asempa FM.

“but the truth is that my leg is swollen, and we need to treat it.”

Ghana refuse to risk City star

Okraku explained that the Black Stars opted to allow Semenyo to continue his recovery rather than have him travel to Ghana for an MRI only to return to Manchester without featuring.

“As a leader, if you want to know your players, and in this particular case, we know the players and how honest they are when it comes to situations like this, you’d have to ask yourself whether you’d allow Antoine to continue with his recovery and be ready for Man City and for Ghana during the next window,” he said.

“Or have Antoine fly down to Ghana to undergo an MRI and then ask him to go back because he can’t play. His leg is swollen.”

There has been no confirmation of how long Semenyo could be unavailable, leaving Manchester City and Ghana monitoring his recovery.

Semenyo’s growing importance

Semenyo has been one of City’s key attacking players this season, featuring in every Premier League minute so far.

He also completed the full 90 minutes in the Community Shield before being rested for the 5-0 Carabao Cup victory over Norwich.

His importance to City’s attack was recently underlined by head coach Enzo Maresca, who praised his work both with and without the ball.

“It’s much better to work with him than against, for sure, no doubt,” Maresca said.

“Again, he’s giving us a lot in terms of on the ball and off the ball.”

Semenyo’s absence is therefore a blow to Ghana ahead of their AFCON qualifiers, with the Black Stars now set to face Côte d’Ivoire without one of their most in-form attackers.