Ex-Ghana international Peter Lamptey insists the Black Stars will struggle at next year's Africa Cup of Nations if talismanic striker Asamoah Gyan fails to recover fully from his recent injury nightmares.

Gyan, 30, has endured a torrid time on the sidelines with persistent injuries since joining Chinese side Shanghai SIPG.

The iconic Ghanaian captain produced sublime finish on his return from his recent setback to score for his side in their 2-1 defeat at home to Jiangsu Sunning on Saturday.

The former Sunderland hitman missed out as his country qualified to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations following the team's 2-0 win at Mauritius last week.

There are widespread fears the Black Stars skipper may not be fit enough to lead his country at the biannual tournament in Gabon.

And former Hearts and Great Olympics star Peter Lamptey fears the potential absence of Gyan could prove disastrous.

"The Black Stars will find goal scoring difficult without Asamoah Gyan," he told Accra-based Starr FM

"I think it will be good if he plays at AFCON.

"Yes without him, we have won and scored few goals but this is a tournament.

"It will be difficult for ours without him. He is simply a goal scorer and we need him."

Gyan is Ghana's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals in over 90 appearances.