Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan believes Ghana would have struggled to beat Congo in Brazzaville had he played in the encounter.

Kwesi Appiah’s men humiliated their opponents by five goals to one without Gyan, who missed the game through a groin injury.

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Goals from Thomas Partey (hat-trick) and Richmond Boakye-Yiadom (brace) were enough to see Ghana record a first win in the 2018 world cup qualifying campaign.

Gyan played against the Red Devils when they faced Ghana in Kumasi as the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

However, he, together with the Ayews, Andre and Jordan, missed the victory at the Kintele stadium in Brazzaville through injury and illness respectively.

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And the Black Stars captain believes his absence may have helped Ghana record the victory, saying the Congolese side opened up their play upon realizing he wasn’t going to feature.

Speaking in an interview with Hot FM Gyan said: “It is true we could have struggled to win if I had played.

"It is possible that with me, they would have been very defensive but without me, they opened up and that gave us the chance to score five.

“In Kumasi, they were very defensive with five men at the back when I was in the game.

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"When I was substituted, they opened up and we scored. So my absence really helped the team.

“Even before we started the game in Congo, their skipper asked me whether I will be playing or not.

"When I told him I won’t play, he was happy. So that lured them to open up and we had our way."

Gyan is Ghana’s all-time top scorer with an impressive record of 51 goals in 105 appearances.