Ghana has suffered a severe blow to its African Cup of Nations title chances as injured midfielder Laryea Kingston has declared himself out of action for up to seven weeks.

Kingston has informed Hearts that he will be unavailable for up to seven weeks as a result of the hamstring problem which forced him off against Dundee United last weekend.

The midfielder is due to be named in a 23-man squad for the competition in Angola and must report in South Africa for the pre-tournament camping.

With the tournament starting in three weeks' time, it is impossible for him to recover to play a role for the Black Stars even if they reach the final on 31 January.

Hearts manager Laszlo is content to let the Ghanaian Football Association decide on Kingston's fitness having lost patience with the player.

Manager Csaba Laszlo told the Edinburgh Evening News: "Larry told me yesterday that he will be injured for the next six or seven weeks.

"I don't know if he will go away with Ghana, this is a decision for Ghana's football federation."

If the claim by the Hearts manager is true then coach Milovan Rajevac is right to have delayed the unveiling of his squud till the last minute as some other key players like Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah and John Mensah are all nursing injuries.

Kingston's absence is a blow to the Black Stars as he provides several options for Serbian manager Milovan Rajevac.

This hands the opportunity for other youngsters like Agyemang Badu and Kevin Prince Boateng to step up and claim a place in the squad.

Kingston was jeered by his own supporters when he limped off towards the end of the game as Hearts had already used all of their substitutes.

The 29-year-old has only managed five appearances for the Jambos this season due to a combination of knee and hamstring problems.

His popularity among the Hearts faithful recently took a dive when he claimed he would always put his country before his club after playing for Ghana against the advice of Tynecastle medics.