Kingston In Trouble Over Ghana Trip
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Scottish side Hearts are set for a showdown with Ghanaian midfielder Laryea Kingston later this week after he insisted on travelling nearly 4,000 miles for an international friendly despite being injured.
Kingston’s decision to travel to Accra for the game against Tunisia was met with disbelief by coach Csaba Laszlo as the influential player has missed the last five games for Hearts through injury.
The club’s medical staff is still trying to diagnose exactly what is wrong with him after he complained of pain in his thigh when striking the ball.
Ghana’s Football Association requested he travelled to allow the team’s doctor to examine him but, as far as Laszlo is concerned, the journey is unnecessary.
"If Laryea is back, we must talk about this issue," Laszlo told the Evening News.
"I know he is in Ghana and I am surprised. The player is injured.
"He can't play for his national team.
"He has a letter, the medical staff from Ghana would like to see him but he can't play. Heart of Midlothian has medical staff that do a good job.
"Laryea will definitely not play in my team (this weekend). He cannot come back so quickly, this is the problem. I don't know when he will be fit; he has a flight ticket to be back for the weekend.
"He was getting treatment in our medical department, he tried to come back but he told us he was injured. He had the invitation from the football federation of Ghana and, if you receive this letter, your club cannot refuse to release you.
"We released Laryea but if the player is injured and he would like to come back quickly, this is not the best way to go about it.
"This is a friendly game for Ghana, not an official game. You are injured and you lose a lot of time. You are sitting in the airport or on an aeroplane, you are not receiving treatment.
"This is not what I want and this is not professional.
"I accept the Ghana football federation and I accept the player's wish but we will talk about this later," said Laszlo.
