Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan’s latest injury looks worse than first feared with the Al Ain target man possibly facing a lay-off until Christmas.

The Ghana captain may well be out of the nation’s final qualifying games to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as medical examinations have confirmed him to have picked up an injury to his left thigh and will be ruled out for the next 9 weeks after colliding with the opposing goalkeeper during his Al Ain’s 3-1 league win at home over Al Dhafra last week Friday.

Gyan arrived in the morning of the match from international duties with the Black Stars and was thrown into the match in the 62nd minute by Coach Zlatko Dalic – a decision he has received serious criticism for not resting the club’s goal machine after completing two competitive games for his national team in a space of a week.

Gyan himself has taken responsibility for the injury as he reveals exerting too much energy to get himself on the score sheet despite the caution handed him by his club manager.

“I feel much better and my injury is not cause for concern. I had the desire in me to hit the target and I am solely responsible for the injury. Zlatko [Al Ain coach] asked me not to rush the field but I did everything to score a goal,” he said on his personal website www.asamoahgyan3.com.

Should Gyan not recover ahead of schedule, he could miss as many as 8 games for Al Ain and the Black Stars’ AFCON qualifying games against Uganda and Togo in November.