Back-to-form Asante Kotoko striker Seidu Bancey has earned a late call-up to the local Black Stars team who will be resuming camp on Tuesday ahead of a friendly with Mali this weekend at the Accra Sports Stadium – part of preparations for next year's African Nations Championship (CHAN).

Bancey, 23, who missed close to half of the first round games in the 2013/14 Ghana Premier League to injury, has scored an impressive 7 goals in the eight games for Kotoko to top the scorers’ chart.

He received his call-up by the technical handlers of the CHAN team on Monday through his club and becomes the 8th Asante Kotoko player in the now 29-man squad who will be reporting to camp at the M Plaza Hotel in Accra on Tuesday.

The local Black Stars will break camp after Sunday’s friendly against Mali for the Christmas festivities before flying out to Namibia – the team’s camping base for acclimatisation purposes. Ghana’s final 23-man squad for the CHAN tournament will be decided there before the team finally moves to Johannesburg.

Ghana is drawn in Group C alongside Libya, Ethiopia and Congo for the 16-nation tournament scheduled for January 11-February 1, 2014.

Updated squad

Goalkeepers: Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars) Foli Adade (Medeama) Isaac Amoako (Asante Kotoko)

Defenders: Godfred Saka (Aduana Stars), Tijani Joshua (AshantiGold) Francis Morton (Ebusua Dwarfs) Emmanuel Asante (Bechem United) Kwabena Adusei and Abeiku Ainooson (Asante Kotoko) Nuru Sulley (Hearts of Oak) Alfred Nelson (Liberty Professionals) Attamah Larweh Joseph (Tema Youth)

Midfielders: Michael Akuffo, Jordan Opoku, Richard Mpong and Yahaya Mohammed (Asante Kotoko) Jackson Owusu (Berekum Chelsea) Moro Abubakar (Hearts of Oak) Edmund Owusu-Ansah (Heart of Lions) Daniel Darkwah (Aduana Stars) Theophilus Anobaah (Medeama) Aseidu Attorbrah (New Edubiase) Latif Mohammed and Francis Adjei (AshantiGold)

Strikers: Sulley Mohammed (King Faisal) Richard Gadze (Ebusua Dwarfs) Samuel Yeboah (Hearts of Lions) Kennedy Boateng (Medeama), Seidu Bancey (Asante Kotoko)