Black Stars captain, Andre Dede Ayew has said that he has had a very difficult time in the last couple of days as the search continues for his national teammate Christian Atsu who has been trapped under the rubble following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey.

31-year-old Christian Atsu was trapped in the debris of a collapsed 15-story building after an earthquake destroyed thousands of houses in Turkey on February 6, 2023, leaving 16,000 dead and 60,000 injured per reports sighted by GhanaWeb Sports on Thursday, February.

Atsu who was initially reported to have been pulled out of the debris is still believed to be under the ground as the officials who fed the initial information to the media have come to recant their statements.

The news about Atsu's disappearance has affected the mood of Ghana and the sporting world as people continue to pray for the safe return of the 2015 AFCON Best Player and Andre Ayew has said that he is also going through the same 'emotional trauma'.

"I'm very sad, very down. There are no words to describe how we (Ghanaians) all feel about this situation. Personally, it's been difficult in the last few days because he is someone I'm close to."

"As players, we have been trying to speak to each other, trying to get hold of the family to know what's happening because we are very sad about the situation and praying that he will be good and okay. The whole of Ghana is also praying for his safe return," Andr Dede Ayew said in an interview with Sky Sports.

Andre Dede Ayew and Christian Atsu shared the Black Stars dressing room for close to a decade, playing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (2015, 2017, and 2019).



The duo were also instrumental in leading Ghana to the finals of the 2015 AFCON but unfortunately lost on penalties to Ivory Coast.

Christian Atsu before his tragedy scored a 97th-minute winner for Hatayspor on Sunday, February 5, 2023, against Kasimpasa.

Watch the full story about Christian Atsu being trapped in the rubble





JE/KPE