Injured Ghana Starting Goalkeeper's Teammates Travel to Doha to Offer Encouragement

Joe Walcott Excluded from Final Roster Due to Finger Fracture

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jo Walcott (Charlton Athletic), who has been the starting goalkeeper for Ghana, is visiting the national team camp set up in Doha, Qatar. Ghanaian internet news outlet GhanaWeb reported on the 22nd (Korean time) that Walcott, who was left out of the final roster, will join the national team camp. This visit is not intended as a return to the team but is said to be a visit to encourage his teammates.

Walcott recently guarded the goal in eleven A matches but suffered a finger fracture. He was excluded from the final roster after undergoing surgery. Ghana does not have an experienced goalkeeper to fill the gap. The substitute, Richard Ofori (Orlando), is also out due to a knee injury.

Ghana coach Otto Addo is trying to minimize the gap with Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen), Abdul Manaf Nurudin (Wuppertal), and Ibrahim Danlad (Asante Kotoko). However, Ati-Zigi and Nurudin have only nine and two A match appearances respectively. Danlad has never played in an A match.

Ghana will play their first match against Portugal on the 25th. They will face Korea on the 28th.