West Ham United will be fuming with Ghana as key player injury stance shared ahead of AFCON

West Ham will be fuming with Ghana after The Athletic reported Mohammed Kudus will hopefully be fit to play in Ghana’s opening game at the African Cup of Nations despite the Hammers arguing otherwise.

West Ham news source Claret & Hugh reported on 13 January that the Hammers have made it clear that they do not want Kudus included in the clash with Cape Verde and want him rested.

Kudus has been recovering from a hamstring injury, and West Ham believes he needs more rest to recover rather than being rushed back for the opening game.

With West Ham hoping their star man will not be rushed straight back into the Ghana team to play Cape Verde on 14 January, there is clear concern for his recovery progress and fears that he may make the situation worse if he is rushed back into the fold.

Ghana, however, are keen to have their star man back as quickly as possible to boost their chances of going all the way and winning AFCON for the first time since 1982, something Kudus will want to be a key part of.

The final call will be left to Ghana boss Chris Hughton, and although the Hammers may try to influence that decision, he needs to make the decision he feels will benefit his team.

The risk is that, if Kudus is rushed back to playing, the injury will become worse. That would be a huge blow to both teams – Ghana for their AFCON hopes and West Ham for their season – so the logical move would be to allow him extra rest.

West Ham’s stance is that he must be rested until the second game of the tournament against Egypt, with the opening game an easier one respectively, although Ghana will not see it that way with every win crucial even at this stage.

This could get uglier than it already is.