Ghana football association executive council member Frederick Acheampong has defended Tottenham Hotspur‘s Mohammed Kudus and others who withdrew from the squad during this international break.
The Premier League side invested over €60m to sign the attacking midfielder from West Ham United in July 2025.
Kudus finished his debut season at Tottenham with three goals and six assists from 29 matches. He suffered a hamstring injury in January, forcing him to spend 177 days on the sidelines.
He regained full fitness in the summer and has played 198 minutes from four matches this season.
Tottenham man focusing on improving fitness
Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz had initially included the 26-year-old in his squad for the three matches.
Earlier this week, Sport Witness covered a report from Ghana that Mohammed Kudus decided to not represent his country. He wants to take advantage of the break to work on ‘completing his recovery at Tottenham Hotspur’ and regaining his ‘best physical condition and form’.
Besides Kudus, Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo, Sheffield United new signing Jordan Ayew and several others withdrew from the squad. Earlier this week, the Black Stars manager called up nine new players.
This led to suggestions and resulted in speculations that players intentionally withdrew from the squad.
‼️ Welcome to INTERNATIONAL BREAK BINGO
🇫🇷 Will there be French mutiny?
🇦🇷 Should we expect Argentina tears?
❓Who will say something stupid and claim mistranslation?
🩺 Which big new signing will get injured?
▶️ Play along… 👇https://t.co/J3ZDwQEYs4— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 24, 2026
Tottenham player’s withdrawal explained
On Thursday, Ghana suffered a 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in the AFCON qualifiers. Prior to that clash, Frederick Acheampong spoke to Kessben FM and Ghana Web have relayed his comments.
The outlet states: ‘He rejected claims that the players intentionally withdrew from the team due to certain issues within the squad, vehemently denying such suggestions.’
Acheampong has come in defence of the national team players, including Mohammed Kudus.
“There have been a lot of conspiracy theories and speculations about the withdrawal of the Black Stars players,” he said.
“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.”
Kudus staying back in England to work on regaining his best physical condition can benefit Roberto De Zerbi’s side. Whether that will reflect on the pitch is unclear.
Spurs have endured a difficult run this season, failing to win after five matches. This has seen them sit bottom of the table.
