The captain and striker of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan, has been restless in recent weeks trying to explain away why he supposedly was deemed to have failed a medical at English Championship side Reading.
As to whether or not he has been successful with his explanation, the jury is out there to judge. For us, it has been a needless enterprise so far.
Indeed, we wish the image builders of the Ghanaian soccer star had dissuaded him from engaging in that, much as they themselves stand blameable for leading the crusade.
After all, what is the big deal about a footballer failing a medical exam at a particular club, when it is the case that at another club that same player would undergo a medical and pass?
For us, it is about what the medical examination would be looking to establish, and once you are deemed to have passed or failed, so be it.
Some clubs will not sign a player once the result is negative, while others may still admit the player on their books, pending treatment of whatever ailment he has been diagnosed of.
We are no physicians, but suffice us to indicate that generally players wanting to join new clubs from other clubs may be examined for match fitness, injury or any chronic ailment such as heart disease and the like.
But, we must repeat, that does not mark the end of the career of a player and that is why we are surprised at the kind of negative reaction generated by Gyan and his publicists over the failed medical examination at Reading.
Doubtless, it is not the first time any footballer of Gyan’s standing is deemed to have failed medicals at a club and, therefore, the feverish denials from the Gyans should have been avoided.
The case of French international Loic Remy comes in for good measure. He was one of the top players (Andre Dede Ayew included) at one-time French champions, Marseille, but failed medicals at Liverpool and moments later passed another at Chelsea while transferring to the English Premiership.
And has Gyan not secured a club in another country in a matter of weeks after the Reading failure to generate all the hullabaloo and even the insistence still by the Reading coach, Jaap Staam, that, indeed, the Ghana captain failed the medicals?
Other examples worth referencing include the departure by Samir Nasri and goalkeeper Joe Hart from Manchester City for their reported poor conditioning.
Both players dropped in the pecking order of City’s new coach Pep Guardiola, who had adjudged Nasri of being overweight and Hart for lacking sharp reflexes in the post.
Hardly were they heard disputing the manager’s thoughts about them, which could have been influenced by pre-season medicals and, for them, it was time to move on.
That is the nature of the game in today’s world and we thought Gyan should have known better.