Ghana Confirms Appiah Will Miss African Cup of Nations

Ghana Confirms Appiah Will Miss African Cup of Nations
By Nathan L. Redd

In a report on the BBC's website on Friday, Ghana National Coach Claude LeRoy confirmed that Fenerbahce star Stephen Appiah will miss the African Cup of Nations in February. LeRoy told BBC Sport "Even without Stephen we'll try to do our best to win the competition. That's why I want him to join us for our training camp and if possible to be with us during the tournament as well. We will use him as a special advisor because he can bring a lot to the team even without playing."

Ghana is seeking their fifth African Nations Cup in 2008. The tournament will be hosted by Ghana this time around, and the news has reportedly devastated Appiah. LeRoy knows that the home team's chances have been severely hampered by Appiah's absence. He went on to tell BBC Sport "It's terrible news for all the Ghanaian people because it won't be the same team without him. It was difficult for me to sleep when I heard the news that he was out. It's a huge problem."