Manchester City star Antoine Semenyo has been forced to withdraw from the Ghana squad for their African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against the Ivory Coast and Gambia. Semenyo starred for City on Sunday, scoring twice as the Blues beat Sunderland 5-3.
Semenyo was awarded man of the match for his performance and admitted he was ‘battered and bruised’, following the victory. The forward has since withdrawn from Ghana’s squad for their upcoming clash with the Ivory Coast this evening. Explaining his absence, the country’s FA president Kurt Okraku. said that a decision was made not to risk Semenyo in this break.
“Antoine [Semenyo] and the coach spoke, and he told the coach, ‘If you need me, I will come down for the medical team to re-examine me,” Okraku recalled on Asempa FM, “but the truth is that my leg is swollen, and we need to treat it.
“As a leader, if you want to know your players, and in this particular case, we know the players and how honest they are when it comes to situations like this, you’d have to ask yourself whether you’d allow Antoine to continue with his recovery and be ready for Man City and for Ghana during the next window. Or have Antoine fly down to Ghana to undergo an MRI and then ask him to go back because he can’t play.
“His leg is swollen.” Currently, there is no indication as to how long Semenyo could be absent for. The winger has so far played every minute for City in the Premier League, and completed the full 90 minutes in the Community Shield. Semenyo was handed a rest for the 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Norwich.
Before the Manchester derby earlier this month, Maresca praised Semenyo’s impact in Jeremy Doku’s absence. “It’s much better to work with him than against, for sure, no doubt,” the City head coach said.
“Again, he’s giving us a lot in terms of on the ball and off the ball. If you see the first goal we scored at [Crystal] Palace away, it was his cross. The first goal we scored against Coventry was his assist.
“So he’s working very well. Again, not only on the ball, [but] also off the ball, he’s working. He’s helping the team a lot.”
City return to action on Sunday, October 11, when they visit Liverpool in the Premier League.
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