Ghana coach Akonnor debunks Atsu international retirement reports 

Ghana coach CK Akonnor has stated reports that Newcastle United attacker Christian Atsu has called time on his international career are untrue.

The winger has not played for the Black Stars since picking up a tournament-ending injury at the Africa Cup of Nations in June last year.

In February, he held discussions with Akonnor when the coach visited the UK as part of a tour abroad following his takeover as Ghana head coach in January.

Recent media reports say Atsu has decided to hang up his boots due to neglect over the fateful injury which kept him on the sidelines for a few months.

“It’s not true that Atsu has retired from the Black Stars. We spoke at length but we did not have a discussion on him retiring from the national team,” Akonnor said, as reported by Ghana Web.

“We agreed to give him some time to recover because he is struggling with that knee injury and I cannot ask him to come to Ghana to play again when he even travels across Europe to seek treatment.

"I have also been a player before and I know what he is going through; it’s something very serious.

“He [Atsu] is a good player and once he recovers, he will be invited.”

Atsu made his Ghana debut against Lesotho in 2012, scoring few minutes into his second-half introduction.

He has gone on to win over 60 caps for the Black Stars, including appearances in all of Ghana's three games at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The 28-year-old has so far made 18 Premier League outings for Newcastle this season.