Injury-prone Asamoah Gyan eager to repay faith of Al Ahli fans

Injury-prone Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan is determined to get himself right and repay the faith shown by United Arab Emirates side Al Ahli.

The 31-year-old wants to prove to the fans he remains an elite-level striker after struggling with niggling injuries on his return to the gulf.

The iconic Ghana super star has been restricted to only eight starts for the Arabian Gulf League Champions in all competitions since he joined on loan.

The former Sunderland hitman has scored a disappointing six goals - a far cry of his immense quality where he notched 128 times during four trophy-laden years at Al Ain between 2011 and 2015.

And he has vowed to end his injury nightmare after being criticized by a section of the Al Ahli fans.

"It happens," Gyan told the thenational.ae "Sometimes when things go wrong, people will talk, when things go right people will talk. I’ve been in this game for almost 15 years so I know how it works. It doesn’t affect me at all. I’m trying to fight with myself because a fit Asamoah Gyan knows what he can do on the pitch.

"I’ve been in very difficult situation in the past nine months, but I’m still trying to make sure I get back to my normal fitness. Definitely I’m going to get it. I don’t predict, but I believe I’m going to get there.

"What is important is that I’m on the pitch. When I’m playing there are many opportunities: I can head, I can shoot, I’m blessed to have this kind of quality. When I’m on the pitch I know what I can do. The most important thing is to stay fit. That is what I’m praying for every time."

"Yeah, it’s very frustrating," he said. "And sometimes I see some criticism here and there, but they don’t know what is going on. People say things that they don’t normally have to say. I try to sacrifice myself.

"Even [against Jazira] I was playing with pain, but nobody knew. It’s one of those things. I have to just get back to my scoring form. Even sometimes when you don’t play and when you score it changes everything as a striker. So I’m just trying to look sharper and get back to my old Asamoah Gyan."

Asked if he believes he has time to do that this season, Gyan replied: "Definitely, because I have two and a half months to go. I’m just praying to God that I can stay fit. It’s been difficult for me, I haven’t had a pre-season camp with the team for a long time and I think this is what I’m lacking right now. But from next season I’m going to go for pre-season and prepare well for my body to stay active." he told popular Dubai-based website thenational.ae.