Ghana axe Ayew from African Cup of Nations squad after he fails to arrive for training

The Marseille midfielder had been ordered to arrive at the Ghana training camp in Abu Dhabi by Saturday, but has still not arrived to link up with Kwesi Appiah's squad.

Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew.

Andre Ayew has been axed by from the Ghana squad for the African Cup of Nations - after failing to arrive at their Abu Dhabi training camp in time.

The Marseille midfielder did not meet Saturday's deadline for the pre-tournament camp and had not arrived by this morning - despite being released by Marseille.

Kwesi Appiah, the Ghana coach, confirmed he had dumped the 2012 African Player of the Year nominee from his squad for the competition later this month - but did not rule out picking him for future squads.

"Following Andre's inability to join the Black Stars squad by Monday morning for Ghana's team doctors to assess the extent of his injury and fitness for the tournament, I have decided to work only with the players currently in camp," he said in a statement on the FA website.

The Ghana FA claimed the player had said he would not be able to arrive for training in Abu Dhabi until Wednesday - the cut-off date for submitting squad lists for the competition.

"I have personally explained the rationale behind the decision to Andre and I will continue to count on him in future matches if he is fit," Appiah added.

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