ACCRA (Reuters) - Chelsea defender Abdul Rahman Baba is set to make his return for Ghana at the African Cup of Nations finals after being named in their 23-man squad for the tournament in Egypt, which starts next week.
The 24-year-old last played for his country at the 2017 finals in Gabon where he suffered a serious knee injury that stalled his career.
On loan at Schalke 04 from Chelsea at the time, the Bundesliga club described the injury as “a complex rupture to his cruciate ligament along with tears to his internal and external cartilage”.
He returned to action in May last year but failed to break into Schalke’s team and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Stade Reims in France.
Andre Ayew will captain Ghana in what will be his sixth appearance at the finals, while 33-year-old Asamoah Gyan will be heading to his seventh.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Felix Annan (Asante Kotoko), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (Sochaux), Richard Ofori (Maritzburg United)
Defenders: Lumor Agbenyenu (Goztepsor), Joseph Aidoo (Racing Genk), Joseph Attamah (Basaksehir), Abdul Rahman Baba (Stade Reims), John Boye (Metz), Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew), Kassim Nuhu (Hoffenheim), Andy Yiadom (Reading)
Midfielders: Afriyie Acquah (Empoli), Thomas Agyepong (Hibernian), Kwadwo Asamoah (Inter Milan), Christian Atsu (Newcastle United), Andre Ayew (Fenerbache), Samuel Owusu (Cukaricki Belgrade), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid), Mubarak Wakaso (Deportivo Alaves),
Forwards: Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Caleb Ekuban (Trabzonspor), Asamoah Gyan (Kayserispor), Kwabena Owusu (Leganes).
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)