Essien ruled out of must-win match

“We will then have a clearer idea of whether he can play.”

Essien has played just 45 minutes at the tournament in Angola, arriving almost a week after the rest of the squad.

He had been given time to recover from a hamstring injury at his London club and was then further delayed when his flight from Britain was cancelled because of the heavy snow and poor weather in Europe.

Essien was brought on for the second half of Ghana’s 3-1 loss to neighbours Cote d’Ivoire in Cabinda on Friday, but obviously still struggling with the injury and his fitness as he made little impact on the game.

Additional reporting by Reuters