Ayew to miss Ghana-Egypt clash

Ghana's hopes of having injured West Ham United winger Andre Ayew back in time for the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Egypt in November appears to have been dashed, with latest update from his club indicating that the 26-year-old will not completely recover before the Cairo meeting.

The former Marseille man has been on the sidelines since injuring his hamstring in an English Premier League match against Chelsea in August.

Initially expected back in the New Year, the forward is now set for a return by the end of the year after making significant progress ahead of schedule, and the news had prompted reports that he could make Ghana's squad for the all-important game on November 13.

"We have suffered a number of injuries since the start of the season," West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan told the club's official website on their injury situation.

"It will be a big boost to see Aaron Cresswell back in first team contention.

"We hope that both Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll will also be back in action in the next few weeks.

"We also need our club record signing Andre Ayew, but he could still be a month away from making a first-team return."

Ghana sit two points below Egypt on the table after matchday one.

The Black Stars were held to a goalless stalemate by Uganda on Friday while the Pharaohs picked a valuable 2-1 away win against Congo on Sunday.