Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo has withdrawn from the Black Stars squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, citing a lingering ankle injury.

The Manchester City forward asked to be excused from the September October international window to focus on recovering from the injury, further depleting Ghana's attacking options ahead of crucial qualifiers against Côte d'Ivoire and Gambia.

Semenyo was set to undergo independent medical checks through the Ghana Football Association, with the situation expected to be clarified further in the coming days.

His withdrawal comes despite an impressive start to the Premier League season, having scored two goals and provided three assists in five appearances so far.

The 26 year old joins Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey on the list of key absentees, leaving the Black Stars without several of their most influential attacking players heading into the qualifying campaign.

In response to the wave of late withdrawals, Ghana have called up Brandon Thomas Asante, Felix Afena Gyan and Jonas Adjetey to bolster the squad. Rockson Yeboah and Rahim Ibrahim have also received their first ever call ups to the senior national team.

Ghana open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Côte d'Ivoire in Bouaké on September 24, before hosting Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium five days later. The mounting injury list, now including Semenyo, Kudus and Partey, has forced coach Carlos Queiroz's technical team to lean on a mix of experienced fringe players and uncapped talent as Ghana looks to build momentum in the early stages of qualification.