Stars overcome injury worries

(From William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent in Luanda, Angola, courtesy Ministry of Youth and Sports)

Luanda, Angola, Jan. 22, GNA - The Black Stars of Ghana seem to have overcome the numerous injury worries that bedevilled the team before and during the preliminary stages of the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Angola.

With the exception of captain Michael Essien who flew out of Angola in clutches after sustaining a serious injury last Sunday, all the other players who were not fully fit have regained total match fitness. Midfielder Anthony Annan has fully recovered from the thigh injury that kept him out of action in the first two matches of the competition. Annan trained fully with the team on Thursday evening when the GNA Sports monitored the training session of the Black Stars in Luanda, giving clear indications of his recovery.

The midfielder is expected to train on Friday and Saturday evening and will be ready for a role in the match on Sunday.

Asamoah Gyan and Hans Adu Sarpei who were in the starting line up against Burkina Faso after their recovery from various injuries, however, received slight treatment from the team doctor, Percy Annan before the training.

With the current situation there are clear signals that the technical team will have the full compliments of the squad for the game against Angola barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Eric Addo who missed the game against Burkina Faso after he was struck down by malaria was also present at training on a full scale, whilst Haminu Dramani who returned from injury in the second game against Burkina Faso also seem to be ready for the next game against Angola on Sunday. Head coach Milovan Rajevic told the GNA Sports in an interview that his players are now fully fit and ready to do battle on Sunday. He said as compared to the previous matches in which, he featured some unfit players, the game against Angola will see them parading very fit players.

Asked whether the current crop of fit players will make him change his team for the game, the Serbian coach said he is yet to take a decision on the line up for Sunday, adding that he still has some few days to do further assessment of the players to make a decision.

According to the coach, even though all his players are fit for the game on Sunday, he cannot tell whether they will retain the same side since anything could happen in the game of football.

Coach Rajevic said the Stars will round up their training session on Saturday evening after which he will have a fair idea of the strength of his team.

He stated that h e is anticipating a very keen contest on Sunday, but added that they have an edge over the Angolans because the pressure will be in them to win and this they will capitalize on to succeed. The Stars have since Wednesday combined gym work and tactical training in preparations for the quarter finals game against the Palancras Negras of Angola at the 50,000 capacity 11th November Sports Stadium in south of Luanda.