Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has dismissed suggestions that Andre and Jordan Ayew were excluded from his recent squad as a punishment for failing to travel to Congo last month for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Appiah announced a provisional 26-man squad on Tuesday without the English Premier League duo.

West Ham United star Andre claimed he had suffered an injury after the first leg in Kumasi and withdrew from the squad to Brazzaville.

His younger brother Jordan of Swansea City ejected himself from the squad after claiming he had food poisoning.

Jordan backed his claim by releasing a photo of him on a sick bed receiving treatment.

The two players were accused of malingering and circling reports have suggested that Appiah excluded them because of that.

But the ex-Ghana captain has denied and explained that: ''I know some people would make that assumption, but it has nothing to do with that

''We already know Dede (Andre) and Jordan in the team so we want to give other players the chance to see what they can also do for the nation.

''I didn't see how we were going to change the team that did so well against Congo in Brazzaville.''