Bundesliga side Augsburg have braced themselves for life without in-form left Baba Rahman who will be away with Ghana during the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

Augsburg head coach Markus Weinzierl has lined up 28-year-old Marcel De Jong to step up when the outstanding left-back is away in Equatorial Guinea.

Rahman has been a revelation since joining last summer.

But Weinzierl says he has already figured out how to cope without his influential player.

“We have already thought about his absence and we have a couple of players that are doing well,” he said.

“Marcel De Jong is one exciting player who can really play in a lot of positions.

“I look at my team and I fix players who want to play so I keep it open, but for now Marcel is fit for the job.”

Rahman is expected to miss the resumption of the second half of the Bundesliga with games against Hoffenhiem, Dortmund and Frankfurt all coming too early for him.