Stevanovic planning for Mensah loss

Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic is concerned about the absence of John Mensah for his team’s second match at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Centre-back Mensah, the team’s captain, scored the only goal in Ghana’s 1-0 win over Botswana on Tuesday.

He then picked up a hamstring injury and saw a red card in the opening fixture of Group D.

Serbian Stevanovic, making his Nations Cup debut as a coach, believes his squad can still execute his strategies without the Lyon man.

“I’m worried because Mensah is very difficult to replace,” Plavi said.

“He played well against Botswana but then got sent off.”

“But while we were training in South Africa, I told the players that I need every one of them for this competition and so I have 20 other players who could replace him and we will be ready for Mali.”