After suffering a severe knee injury during Olympique Lyon’s Ligue 1 match against Lille on Saturday, Ghanaian attacker Ernest Nuamah will miss the rest of the season.
After Lille defender Gabriel Gudmundsson gave him a hard tackle five minutes into the game, the 21-year-old’s left knee ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Rayan Cherki took his position when he was ejected off the field.
“Olympique Lyonnais is mourning the serious injury suffered by Ernest Nuamah, who suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Saturday evening. Good luck, Ernest,” a club statement said on Monday.
Prior to the setback, Nuamah had been playing well, contributing four goals and one assist in his last six appearances for both club and country. This injury is a major blow to both Lyon and Ghana’s national team, where Nuamah has established himself as a vital member with his speed, inventiveness, and attacking flair. On March 21, 2025, a week before the injury, Nuamah scored in Ghana’s 5-0 thumping of Chad in an international friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Given that Nuamah is now the sixth Black Stars player to sustain an ACL injury in the previous two years, his absence contributes to a concerning injury trend among Ghanaian internationals.
Head coach Otto Addo is facing an increasing number of important absences from his team as Ghana gets ready for September’s World Cup qualifying matches against Chad and Mali.
