Jordan Ayew to captain Black Stars against Sudan in Thomas Partey’s absence

Jordan Ayew is set to captain Ghana for their crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying double-header against Sudan.

The Leicester City forward is expected to wear the armband following Thomas Partey’s withdrawal from the squad due to injury.

Ayew is originally fourth in the pecking order when it comes to the captains of the Black Stars, behind his senior brother Andre, Partey and Daniel Amartey.

However, Andre has not been invited to the national team since March, while Amartey has also been dropped for the clash against Sudan.

Jordan Ayew to captain Black Stars vs Sudan

In the absence of the aforementioned duo, as well as Partey, Jordan Ayew is next in line and is set to be the skipper of the Black Stars when they face James Kwasi Appiah’s side.

Ghana will host Sudan on Thursday at the Accra Sports Stadium before facing the Northeast African side again four days later in the reverse fixture.

Meanwhile, Otto Addo’s side has been ravaged by injuries with four players ruled out of the upcoming assignments.

A statement from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said Partey, Paintsil, Kingsley Schindler and Osman Ibrahim have all been ruled out by injury.

“Thomas Partey, Joseph Painstil, Kingsley Schindler, and Osman Ibrahim have been ruled out of the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan due to injuries they picked up over the weekend. The four players were initially part of Coach Otto Addo's 25-man squad for the double header,” the statement reads.

Giving details on Partey’s injury, the Ghana FA said: “Thomas is unable to join the Black Stars due to medical issues he is currently experiencing, and his club has scheduled him for further tests in the coming days.”

On Paintsil’s absence, the GFA explained: “He experienced some pain in his hamstrings during their last game on Saturday, October 5. His club doctors have scheduled him for an MRI on Monday, 7th October. He is therefore unavailable to join the Black Stars.”

The GFA added that Osman Ibrahim was unavailable after suffering a calf injury, while Schindler is also unable to join the national team due to a medical emergency.

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