Joseph Paintsil, the talented Ghanaian winger, will unfortunately miss the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central African Republic. The Black Stars are scheduled to battle Mali at Stade du 26 Mars on June 6 before returning home to face the Central African Republic at Baba Yara Stadium.
The 26-year-old Paintsil, who recently made the move to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, sustained an injury that will keep him out of action until June. LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney revealed in a press conference ahead of their match against Houston Dynamo that Paintsil was substituted after 52 minutes during Galaxy’s 2-2 draw with Minnesota on May 16 and subsequently missed the game against Charlotte FC on May 18.
Vanney mentioned the possibility of Paintsil making a return for the June 2 match against Chicago Fire but stated that his availability remains uncertain. “We’ll monitor his recovery this week. He’s played around 45 games since his European season started in August, so this is a good time for him to recover and prepare for the second half of the season,” Vanney said.
Since joining LA Galaxy from Belgian side KRC Genk, Paintsil has been in fine form, scoring four goals and providing four assists in just 13 league games.
As Ghana’s head coach Otto Addo prepares to announce his squad for the upcoming qualifiers, the Black Stars find themselves in fourth place in Group I with three points. The team will be looking to bounce back after a mixed start to their campaign, having secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Madagascar but suffering a surprising defeat against Comoros.
Ghanaian football fans eagerly await the squad announcement and hope for a successful campaign in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
