Barely 24 hours after announcing his retirement from the Ghana national team, Asamoah Gyan has returned to the Black Stars after an intervention to that effect by the country’s president Nana Akufo-Addo.
Making the U-turn, Gyan wrote on social media on Wednesday: “A presidential request is one that cannot be disregarded”.
The ex Sunderland striker said he had accepted the request by President Akufo-Addo “in good faith and will make myself available for selection by coach Kwasi Appiah to help win the AFCON trophy.”
The volte face comes as the Black Stars prepare for next month’s African Nations Cup slated for Egypt.
The 33-year old now expected to lead the team to a successful tournament.
He made his international debut for Ghana in 2003 and has since been a major component of the national team, scoring some important goals and missing a crucial world cup penalty in 2010, when Ghana faced Uruguay in the quarter-final in South Africa.
He is the nation’s all-time scorer with 51 goals in 106 appearances after participating in six AFCON tournaments, scoring seven goals.
He scored Ghana’s first World Cup goal under two minutes and was later to be regarded as the fastest goal of the tournament in 2006.
DAP/as/APA