Black Stars midfielder Afriyie Acquah returned to the Empoli team to play 22 minutes on Thursday in their 1-0 away loss at Lazio in the Italy Serie A.

Empoli are 17th and risk dropping to the relegation mire.

The tough-tackling 27-year old midfielder was an unused substitute in Empoli’s last game against Chievo but yesterday coach Giuseppe Iachini introduced the Ghanaian in the 69th minute to take the place of Hamed Traore of Ivory Coast.

It was the 17th game overall for the former Palermo midfield anchor this season at Empoli having racked up 1036 minutes in 2018/19.

Aqcuah will be one of the reliable players for the Black Stars as Ghana seeks to win its first AFCON title in 37 years.