Essien ruled out of must-win match

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac on Monday put on a brave face as he stated that the Black Stars were optimistic of progressing far in the tournament despite a string of injury problems that have confronted the team.

The weakened Black Stars must beat Burkina Faso on Tuesday in Luanda to progress to the quarter-finals.

Burkina Faso, who cleverly held the highly rated Cote d’Ivoire to a barren draw on January 11, need only avoid defeat against Ghana to make the last eight.

“We are missing very important players but we strongly believe the other players are capable,” Rajevac told a packed press conference consisting mainly of Ghanaian journalists, many of whom shed their ethical observations to show anxiety over the Black Stars’ predicament.

Hamstring injury

Ghana’s topmost player, Michael Essien, was ruled out of the match with a new injury incurred during training on Sunday.

The Chelsea midfielder featured for the Black Stars as a second half substitute in their 3-1 loss to Cote d’Ivoire after coming back from a hamstring injury.

Midfielder Asamoah Gyan and Anthony Anan and forward Draman Haminu entered the tournament with niggling injuries further compounding the problems of Rajevac, who is missing regulars, including John Mensah, Anthony Appiah and Layrea Kingston to injury.

Speaking through an interpreter, the Serbian coach said he still expected the depleted Black Stars to go far.

“Ghana are among the favourites to win this tournament after qualifying for the World Cup.

“We expect to go far but we are first thinking of winning the match tomorrow,” he said.

Several Ghanaian journalists sought assurance from Rajevac that the Black Stars will win on Tuesday.

The 56-year-old former defender could only say that the players will play to the best of their ability.

They will need to break down a Burkinabe side that has caught scent of the quarter-finals.

Essien underwent a scan on an injured knee on Sunday after being taken to a Luanda hospital by ambulance from training at the African Nations Cup finals.

The Chelsea midfielder hurt his right knee in a tackle with teammates as Ghana were preparing in the Angolan capital for today’s key Group B match against Burkina Faso.

He is now in doubt for a match that Ghana must win to stay in the competition, and could be sidelined even longer if the initial serious nature of the injury proves to be true.

“He was taken to a local hospital for a scan and we’ll get the results back on Monday (yesterday),” Ghana’s team press officer Randy Abbey said on Sunday.

“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