Abdul Fatawu seemed to come through Ghana’s emphatic 5-0 demolition of the Central African Republic without any problems, with the Leicester City winger able to celebrate what is virtually qualification for next summer’s World Cup.
Fatawu featured for 76 minutes for his nation and was all smiles as he walked off the pitch, indicating there were no injury concerns for the attacker.
Before his departure, City boss Marti Cifuentes urged Ghana’s coaching staff to take good care of Fatawu, who was representing his country for the first time since suffering an ACL tear last November.
There’s still one more fixture left for Ghana before Fatawu’s return — and before they can officially confirm their place at next summer’s World Cup in North America.
To guarantee qualification, they simply need to avoid defeat and prevent an eight-goal swing when they host Comoros on Sunday, while second-placed Madagascar face Mali away.
It was City’s other Ghanaian star, Jordan Ayew, who stole the show in Wednesday’s dominant win over the Central African Republic, scoring once and providing two assists from his role up front.
Elsewhere, Patson Daka played 84 minutes as Zambia edged past Tanzania 1-0. Although that result technically keeps their World Cup dreams alive ahead of their final group match, they are practically out of contention.
Several more City players are still in international action over the coming days, with another addition to the list as Bade Aluko earned his first-ever England call-up.
The 18-year-old defender, who has captained City’s Under-21s this season, was drafted in as a late inclusion for the England Under-20 squad. They’ll face Switzerland in a friendly at St George’s Park on Friday afternoon.
That makes it three England representatives for City, with Jeremy Monga in Spain with the Under-19s — set to face Belgium (Saturday) and Wales (Tuesday) — and Louis Page lining up for the Under-18s in a two-game series against France (Thursday and Sunday).