England-based players available for Ghana clash with Zimbabwe in Harare

The England-based Ghanaian players will be available for the Black Stars match against Zimbabwe in Harare this month.

Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew, Andy Yiadom, Baba Rahman and Daniel Amartey will all travel to Zimbabwe for the match after English clubs decided to allow their players to travel to COVID-19 red-list countries.

There were initial fears of the Black Stars being without the important quintet because Zimbabwe are on UK red-list and in the last international window, clubs blocked their players from travelling to such countries.

However, that decision has been reversed.

Meanwhile, Ghanaian players must adhere to a strict code of conduct regarding transport, close contacts, testing and bubbles.

They will have to quarantine in "bespoke facilities" for 10 days upon their arrival back in the UK.

They will be permitted to leave quarantine once a day to train or play.

"We have worked closely with football authorities to achieve an outcome that balances the interests of both club and country while maintaining the highest levels of public health and safety," said a government spokesperson.

"Our best defence against the virus is vaccination and these new measures will allow fully vaccinated players to fulfil their international duties in the safest, most practical way possible while allowing them to train and play with their clubs as early as possible upon their return."

In the September international break, Ghana were badly affected by the English clubs' decision as several key players did not show up for the South Africa match in Johannesburg.

In their absence, the Black Stars suffered a 1-0 defeat and are now in danger of missing out on the FIFA World Cup for a second consecutive time.

Ghana face Zimbabwe twice this month. The first match is scheduled for October 9 in Johannesburg with the return leg in Harare three days later.

Both games are must-wins for the Black Stars who are under a technical team headed by Serbian returnee Milovan Rajevac.