Andre Ayew could miss at least two and possibly three of Swansea City’s key Championship matches if he goes away on international duty with Ghana.
The Swans striker is due to captain his country in an African Nations Cup qualifier in South Africa on March 25.
Unless the tie is moved elsewhere, then if Ayew played he would be forced to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days on his return and miss games against Birmingham City, Preston and possibly Millwall.
The quarantine demand – recently imposed on UK residents returning from countries with high rates or new strains of Covid-19 – could also hit a number of other players from the Premier League, including Ayew’s brother Jordan at Crystal Palace.
Ghana are due to play in Johannesburg and then the Black Stars have another match at home to the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe on March 28, meaning Ayew could be stuck in a hotel room when he returns to the UK on or around March 29 or 30.
“I am not too sure of the situation, to be fair,” said Swans head coach Steve Cooper, when asked about the prospect of being without the club’s talisman and leading scorer.
“I know there has been some stuff written about the situation with Premier League players, so I’m, not sure how this one will look.
“But what the stance is going to be throughout football, I’m not too sure. But I know there are some decisions to be made going forward. We’ve got four games to play first, but I know it’s coming.
“We haven’t even had a call-up for Andre yet to say that he’s going. But I would imagine we would, with him being the captain of Ghana.
“There have been games moved in the Champions League because of Covid restrictions. I haven’t given it much thought but I don’t think this situation is not just going to be about Andre and Swansea.
“I think there will be a whole host of players that represent countries outside Europe. With the travel restrictions and all that kind of stuff, other clubs are going to be in a similar boat.
“I would imagine football will take a bit of a lead on it and we can make a decision from there.”
🇬🇭 On Ghana’s independence day, Andre Ayew scores a brace to secure a win for the Swans as they go up to 3rd in the table, 1 point behind 2nd placed Watford.
1️⃣3️⃣ goals this season. Leader ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Wp3eRuZVjk
— Owuraku Ampofo 🇬🇭 (@_owurakuampofo) March 6, 2021
Ayew has scored 13 goals in this season’s Championship campaign for the Swans and is arguably their most important player, having missed only two matches.
But Cooper is not the only coach with concerns about how quarantine could affect his players with both Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool having suggested their clubs will not allow any player to go away on international duty if they are stuck in quarantine on their return.
FIFA rules allow clubs to prevent their players from going away on international duty if there is a quarantine period of at least five days on their return.
But the decision rests with individual clubs, meaning they risk going against the wishes of their players who want to play for their countries.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has said it should be up to the national football associations to decide if players can travel, not the individual clubs.
As well as South Africa, a number of other countries in Africa and South America are on the quarantine list as well as Portugal.