Injury scare for Majeed Waris as Black Stars begin World Cup preparation
The first minor training session of the Black Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium nearly turned sour when striker Majeed Waris collided with goalkeeper Fatau Dauda and limped off the pitch.
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For the almost 15 minutes that Waris sat at the touchline after his injured right ankle had been bandaged, hundreds of anxious soccer fans who trooped to the stadium to watch their heroes in training had their hearts in their mouths as they feared the worst.
The France-based player was among 14 national stars who responded to the first training session and had trained for an hour when he collided with Fatau, causing him to limp off.
Fortunately, Waris managed to lift himself up and walked steadily afterwards as he joined midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah to sit behind one of the goalposts to watch their teammates continue the training.
Italy-based Asamaoh arrived 40 minutes late and, therefore, did not take part in the training. He sat out of the first training after conferring with the technical handlers of the team.
The team physicians were unwilling to disclose to the Daily Graphic the nature of Waris’ injury, but indications were that Waris could make a quick recovery from the knock and join his teammates for today’s training at the same venue.
Other players who participated actively in yesterday’s training session included goalkeeper Stephen Adams; defenders Samuel Inkoom, Harrison Afful, Jerry Akaminko and Rashid Sumaila; midfielders Mohammed Rabiu, Mubarak Wakaso, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Afriyie Acquah, Christian Atsu and David Accam.
The 65-minute training session was supervised by head coach, James Kwasi Appiah, and assistant coach, Maxwell Konadu, who led the players through various exercises, including jogging, stretching and ball juggling.
Present at the training were the Minister of Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah; former Black Stars coach, Fred Osam-Duodu; the GFA Technical Director, Francis Oti Akenten, and former national players Tony Baffoe and Stephen Appiah.