Crystal Palace could be set to get Jordan Ayew back from the Africa Cup of Nations much earlier than anticipated.
The winger has missed the Eagles’ last two matches against Millwall and Brighton due to his participation at AFCON with his home country Ghana.
However, with the Black Stars’ unexpected early exit from the tournament confirmed on Tuesday evening, Ayew could now return to south London ahead of Palace’s next game against Liverpool this Sunday.
Ghana’s tournament began with a 1-0 defeat to Group C favourite Morocco, with Sofiane Boufal settling the tie in the 83rd minute after his side had largely dominated proceedings.
The Black Stars followed this up with a dramatic 1-1 draw against Gabon, conceding in the 88th minute and having Benjamin Tetteh shown a red card in stoppage time for violent conduct.
That left Ghana’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages on their final group-stage game against AFCON debutants and the second-lowest-ranked side in the competition Comoros.
Incredibly, the tiny island nation got themselves ahead early on before Ayew’s brother Andre was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Comorian goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina.
Ghana managed to claw themselves back into the game and made it 2-2 in the second half only for Ahmed Mogni to snatch the winner for Comoros in the 85th minute and stun the Black Stars fans in the Roumde Adjia Stadium.
The defeat means Ghana exit AFCON at the group stage for the first time since 2006 and it is the first time they have ever been knocked out of the competition without winning a single game.
All this has meant 30-year-old Ayew should be heading back to London and linking up with his Crystal Palace teammates shortly.
The timing of his return will be helpful for manager Patrick Vieira as he hopes to spring an upset on Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool at Selhurst Park this Sunday.
The Reds beat Palace 3-0 at Anfield earlier in the season, though none of the goalscorers from that game will be available on Sunday.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Naby Keita (Guinea) are all still in AFCON action, with Salah the final player of the trio expected to qualify for the knockout stages this evening (Wednesday).
Palace meanwhile will still be without Wilfried Zaha and Cheikhou Kouyate, with both players still involved in AFCON with Ivory Coast and Senegal, respectively.
It is also unlikely that the Eagles will have midfielder James McArthur or defender James Tomkins available for selection against Klopp’s side, with both players still recovering from injury.