Ghana’s Black Stars have been dealt a fresh injury scare, with key players Mohammed Salisu and Antoine Semenyo forced to return to their clubs ahead of the friendly against South Korea. According to the Ghana FA, there are now only 19 fit players available for coach Otto Addo for the November 18 match in Seoul.

Centre-back Mohammed Salisu, currently at AS Monaco, had arrived late to the camp after sustaining a knock in his last Ligue 1 game. Otto Addo later confirmed that the injury was a bilateral medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain, a damage to both inner knee ligaments.

On the offensive end, Antoine Semenyo is also out, after aggravating a left anterior talo-fibula ligament sprain during the match against Japan.

He was subbed off in the 55th minute for Prince Kwabena Adu. The injury is related to one of the lateral ankle ligaments, which often takes several weeks to recover depending on severity.

These injury losses come on the back of another serious blow: Francis Abu, Ghana’s midfielder, suffered a “really serious” injury in recent action.

With Salisu, Semenyo, and Abu all unavailable, Addo faces a considerably weakened squad division of experience and depth.

It’s a test of Ghana’s squad resilience and the coach’s ability to adapt. Addo had previously spoken about the importance of squad depth, saying that injuries are inevitable but that he believes in the quality of the players he has selected.