Ghana winger Christian Atsu is feared to have suffered a hamstring injury which could rule him out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 22-year-old limped off after just eight minutes in Everton’s 1-0 defeat to Kuban Krasnodar in the UEFA Europa League.
Everton boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed the former FC Porto man who was given a rare start on Thursday night may have suffered a hamstring injury and will be assessed thoroughly on Friday.
“The only real negative of the night was Christian Atsu straining his hamstring. We will assess him,” Martinez said after the game.
The results of Atsu’s assessment will determine whether he will play any part for the Black Stars at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in January.
And extreme hamstring injury could take not less than five-six weeks to heal and a further week or so for the player to get back into top shape for competitive action.
And with the 2015 AFCON kicking off on January 17 in Equatorial Guinea, the winger is racing against time to play in his second finals with the Black Stars.
This will be a blow to Ghana who are already without star midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah for the tournament also through injury.
The Black Stars are drawn in the toughest group alongside South Africa, Algeria and Senegal and have just appointed a new coach in former Chelsea boss Avram Grant.
