The 26yo withdraws from Ghana duty to remain at Tottenham for a three-week fitness and sharpness block ahead of his Premier League return.
Tottenham Hotspur attacker Mohammed Kudus has opted to withdraw from international duty with Ghana, deciding to remain at Hotspur Way for a dedicated three-week fitness and sharpness block, according to a report by Football.London correspondent Alasdair Gold.
The 26-year-old winger will miss Ghana’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Ivory Coast and Gambia, as well as a friendly against Morocco. Having recently returned to action following an eight-month absence due to a serious quad injury, Kudus requested permission to remain in North London to continue his rehabilitation under Roberto De Zerbi’s supervision.
Ghana FA Addresses Backlash and Speculation
Kudus’s decision, alongside withdrawals from Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo and Sheffield United’s Jordan Ayew, provoked sharp criticism back home in Ghana. Addressing the reaction, Ghana Football Association Executive Council member Frederick Acheampong publicly defended the Tottenham attacker, dismissing conspiracy theories surrounding the squad absentees.
As quoted by GhanaWeb via Football.London, Acheampong explained:
“There have been a lot of conspiracy theories and speculations about the withdrawal of the Black Stars players. Kudus gave something on compassionate grounds, with the fact that he had been injured for so long and he is now returning, so they should excuse him without any malicious intent.”
“It’s one way for people to draw those conclusions. For me, I think it is an opportunity for those called up to shine. If someone takes over a position, then that’s it. People got such chances and grabbed them with both arms, and it was difficult to take them out.”
Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz also clarified the situation, confirming that detailed assessments following Kudus’s 75-minute appearance in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool prompted the decision to protect the player from a potential setback.
Outlining the rationale behind releasing Kudus from the call-up, Queiroz stated:
“In my final conversation with Kudus, we realised that the best decision was to protect his progress and recovery process and keep the hope that in this period with more training and more games in the legs, in the next round, Kudus will be ready to be with us. In this moment for him, the most sensitive situation is that he can’t take the risk to have a setback like he had before. Nobody wants to take that risk.”
“We have decisions with informations that we have in the end, when they come, I made the decision to release him because he was not ready to come.”
Although Kudus is yet to make his first Premier League start of the 2026/27 campaign, his re-integration is viewed as vital for a Tottenham side currently sitting 20th in the table with two points from five matches.
By staying in London to work through this three-week period, Kudus aims to reach full match sharpness without the strain of international travel, positioning himself to play a central role when Spurs return to domestic action against Manchester United on October 10th.
