Ghana defender John Boye has been ruled out of the Black Stars AFCON 2019 qualifier against the Harambee Stars of Kenya.

The lanky guardsman picked up a thigh injury on Tuesday during FC Metz French League Cup win over RC Lens.

The 31-year-old lasted just 15 minutes of the game as he was replaced by Zambian centre-back Stoppila Zunzu.

There were earlier reports that he could recover in time to feature in their crunch clash against RC Lens, but the former Sivasspor centre-back was left out of the matchday squad with the indication that he is still on the treatment table.

FC Metz, without the experienced defender, went ahead to record a 2-0 win over their opponents to extend their lead to on the standings.

Ghana are already on top of their group after a 5-0 mailing of Ethiopia in the opener of the qualifiers.