Black Stars left back Gideon Mensah willbe out of Ghana’s AFCON 2023 qualifier Group E encounter against Madagascar due to knee injury he picked during the just ended Ligue 1 season with relegated AJ Auxerre.

The AJ Auxerre left back who reported to camp on Monday was ruled out of Ghana’s game after he was assessed by the Black Stars medical team.

“Gideon picked up a knee injury during the season but his club managed him conservatively until the end of the season. Upon assessment in camp on Monday, we decided to excuse him from this game in order not to aggravate the injury” Team medical head, Dr. Prince Pambo told ghanafa.org.

“We expect him to have enough rest during the break to be able to recover on time for next season” Dr. Pambo added.

Mensah made his debut for the Ghana national team in the 2021 AFCON qualifier against south Africa in 2019.