Losing Gyan would be a blow, admits Grant

Ghana coach Avram Grant has acknowledged losing Asamoah Gyan would be a significant blow to his side's Africa Cup of Nations hopes.

Ghana's star striker is suffering from malaria and is in significant doubt for his side's Group C clash against fellow African heavyweights Senegal on Monday.

Grant said: "It's not a secret. Asamoah Gyan is a very good player, very important for us.

"His stats speak for themselves about the goals and the other things that he's doing for the Ghana national team.

"Of course we want him to play but if he cannot play, we'll think about what we can do.

"We'll come to win the game in any case, even if it will be a little more difficult on paper [without Gyan], because he's a good player.

"We want him to play but if he's sick, we can't do anything about that."

Grant added that he was "looking forward" to the challenge of leading Ghana at the tournament, and that he was determined to bring the best out of the many talented players at his disposal.

One man who will likely take on an increased role of importance, if Gyan is absent, is Andre Ayew.

And Ayew is positive about Ghana's hopes, now a hectic period of post-World Cup unrest is behind them.

"In six months Ghana have changed three coaches," he said.

"So I want to congratulate all the players for the work we made in qualifying.

"Now we are in the tournament and everything is OK. We are learning from our new coach.

"I feel that we can do something as a team."

Ghana will also face Algeria and South Africa in Group C at the tournament.