Asamoah Gyan will not be ready before the 2022 World Cup – Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu

Former Black Stars midfielder, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, says Asamoah Gyan will not be fit enough for the Black Stars team ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Gyan made headlines earlier this week when he said in an interview with BBC that he is targeting a return to the Ghana national team ahead of the global showpiece to be staged in Qatar.

Agyemang Badu, who played together with Gyan at several tournaments, said his former teammate will not be ready in time for the tournament despite the forward commencing training.

“From my side, I don’t think [Asamoah] Gyan will be ready [for the World Cup],” he told Joy Sports.

“Training alone and training with a club is different. He knows the stage [World Cup] more than me. He has been there more than me. He has been there three times, he has been the captain in 2014 so he knows the kind of stage it is.

“Training alone two-and-half months before a tournament like this – for my experience I have when I have an injury for six months and came back it took me like three or four months before I got better.

“I don’t think he will be ready for the World Cup.”

However, Agyemang-Badu believes the Ghana Football Association (GFA) can take Gyan as part of the team to Qatar to help the attacking players.

“What we can offer him is for him to be there to help with the striking side as the striker’s coach but for the field of play, he can never be ready for the World Cup,” he added.

The Black Stars have been drawn in Group H of the World Cup alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.