Ghana coach Avram Grant has excluded Juventus Star Kwadwo Asamoah from his provisional 2017 Afcon squad following the player’s request to be left out.
His omission from the squad has delivered a big blow to Ghana's title ambitions at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for January 14 in Gabon.
Asamoah, who happens to be the only Black Stars player plying his trade with the biggest team in Europe at the moment, is reported to have told coach Avram Grant not to consider him for the tournament.
The Juventus playmaker has asked the former Chelsea coach to concentrate on fully recovering from a career-threatening knee injury.
The injury has prevented him from reaching his full potential and there are fears that his departure to play for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations could lead to a relapse in the injury.
There are also fears that he could lose his position in the Juventus team as in his absence players could be signed to replace him.
The midfielder, who can also play as a wing back has been out of the Black stars set-up for two years and has missed the Black Stars’ two matches in the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Uganda and Egypt.
Ghana open their account in Port Gentil against The Cranes on January 17 as they seek to win their first African title since 1982.