Playing in the AFCON may have cost Daniel Amartey his position at Leicester - Yussif Chibsah

Yussif Alhassan Chibsah, a former Ghana international and close associate of Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey has attributed his absence from the Foxes first team in recent weeks to his decision to represent Ghana at the 2017 AFCON earlier this year.

Chibsah in an interview said Amartey recent stints on the bench could be the consequences of his long absence from the team to participate in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations with the Black Stars in Gabon.

Amartey before the AFCON became a mainstay in the Leicester midfield alongside Daniel Drinkwater following the departure of N'Golo Kante to Chelsea.

He has since found opportunities difficult to come by since Leicester signed Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi as his replacemment in January.

"I am worried and the player is also worried because no player likes to be on the bench especially when you know you are in your peak," Chibsah said, as reported by MyJoyOnline.

"These are some of the issues some of us have when it comes to the timing of the Africa Cup of Nations - a player playing in Europe, joins his national team and then loses his position at the club side.

"They bought Ndidi specifically for that position because Amartey was leaving for the Nations Cup and to be honest Ndidi is playing so well and that has made it very difficult for Amartey to get a starting place.

"But Amartey is a utility player, he has lots of options and it is just a matter of patience - I know he will bounce back."