World Cup 2026: “Otto Addo right to exclude Fatawu Issahaku from Chad and Mali games” – Badu

Former Ghana international, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has said, senior team coach, Otto Addo took the right decision to exclude Fatawu Issahaku from the two World Cup qualifying squad.

The Leicester City winger has found his mojo once against after recovering from Anterior Cruciate Ligament [ACL] injury but has been overlooked by Otto Addo for the qualifiers against Chad and Mali.

In an interview with Accra-based Radio Gold, the former Udinese midfielder believes that Fatawu Issahaku needs time to get the injury off his mind.

“He is a fantastic player, a young chap who is doing so well especially coming from an ACL injury and I like his mental toughness because you can ask my colleagues who have had ACL before the kind of things you pass through,” Badu told Radio Gold.

“So he is very good but listen I second with the technical team, the doctors who have advised that he needs to stay away from these two games. “When you are coming from this ACL injury, you start having this muscles and tiredness and stuff like that.

“You know the terrain we are coming from, Africa our pitches for now won’t be favorable for him coming from ACL.

“So if the coaches and the doctors have decided that he needs to stay a bit and wait to get his fitness and to be very well managed, I think it is a plus for the player and it is good for us for the future so I don’t have a problem with it.”

The Black Stars are in N’Djamena for the match day 7 of the qualifiers before hosting Mali four days later at the Accra Sports Stadium for match day 8. The four time African champions lead Group I with 15 points, three better than second placed Comoros.

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