Kwesi Appiah battles Newcastle over Atsu’s fitness

Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah is in tug-of-war with Newcastle United regarding the fitness of Christian Atsu.

The 25-year-old has been playing through pains since he returned to Newcastle United from international break last month due to a knock he had against Congo.

The Magpies want their winger to have enough rest during the international break and have therefore informed the technical team of the Black Stars.

However, Pulse Sports understands Kwesi Appiah and his backroom staff have insisted that the former Chelsea midfielder should be flown to the camp of the Black Stars to enable them carry out their own test on the player.

Kwesi Appiah has a growing list of injuries in camp, with six key players missing the tie against Uganda for that reason- Asamoah Gyan, Thomas Agyapong, Afriyie Acquah, John Boye, Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah.

This will weaken the strength of the Black Stars when they face the Cranes of Uganda in their penultimate 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Friday.

Ghana are lying third in the group E of the qualifiers, with two games to spare and they would have to beat Uganda, while looking forward to seeing Congo hold Egypt in Alexandria, before the final day games.