Felix Afena-Gyan has revealed why he failed to turn up to play for the Black Stars earlier this month when he was handed a maiden call up.
The AS Roma youngster was named Milovan Rajevac’s provisional 28-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.
But the youngster was unable to join the Black Stars squad for both games.
Speaking in an interview with ace journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, the promising forward revealed that he didn’t feel the time was right to don the national team jersey.
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“I felt it was too early for me to answer the call from the national team because I need to grow, physically but also mentally and psychologically,” Afena-Gyan said.
“I also thought it was important for me to stay in Trigoria to accumulate training under [Jose] Mourinho’s orders, to continue improving and growing.”
The Ghanaian also added that despite not responding to the call-up, he hopes to be a part of the team in the coming years.
“I have a lot of respect for my national team and I hope to be part of it in the future. The coach asked me if I would go and I told him I didn’t feel ready yet. But it was my decision. I thought it was premature for me to take such a step,” he concluded.
Ghana went ahead to draw with Ethiopia in the penultimate game before beating Bafana Bafana with a 1-0 scoreline.