Ghana boss Ratomir Dujkovic confirmed the absence of Udinese’s Sulley Muntari and Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien from their African Cup of Nations (ACN) campaign through injury.

“It will be very hard for the players to recuperate before the African Cup, their injuries are far worse than we anticipated,” Dujkovic told Filgoal.com on Sunday.

Asked about why Ghana doctor didn’t check on the players himself, the Serbian said: “We trust the players and their respective clubs, in any case, we are awaiting comprehensive reports on the players’ medical status so we can find out if we can depend on them in Egypt.”

Dujkovic, who prepared for the Cup without Essien and Muntari, refused to name the duo’s replacements and insisted that all the players were “more than suitable for the job”.

Ghana commenced their training camp in Tunisia on December 28th in the African Cup’s former venue and training facility.

The Ghanaian team are expected to play a friendly against Togo on Wednesday and another friendly against Tunisia on January 15th before heading for Cairo on January 17th.

The “Black Stars”, who were drawn with Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe in the African Cup group-four, will play against Nigeria in the match that will take place on January 23rd.