Kuffour will soon be back to partner Ishmael Addo Ghana's footballer of the year Emmanuel Osei Kuffour has received a shock setback as he failed to pass a medical with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.

Kuffour had been on trial with Donetsk, who played in the Champions League this year, and have recruited Nigerian pair Isaac Okoronkwo and Julius Aghahowa.

He spent the last week with the club who had spotted him scoring in Hearts of Oak's 2-0 African Super Cup victory over Zamalek in February.

However, Donetsk vice-president Mark Levitsky said the club's medical staff found some problems, which he did not specify, so they decided not to sign the Hearts man.

Converted to striker

Kuffour has already left Ukraine and will now hope to resume his career with Hearts, starting with next weekend's Champions League first round, first leg tie against Etoile du Congo.

The match was postponed by a week because Hearts had three other players turning out for Ghana on Sunday in the Under-20 Cup of Nations final in Ethiopia.

Kuffour was converted from midfielder to striker last season and responded with ten goals to help fire Hearts to their first Champions League title.