How many games will Mohamed Kudus miss for West Ham due to AFCON 2023?

The 23-year-old Ghanaian front-man has been excellent for the Hammers since his switch from Ajax this season. Kudus has scored 13 goals from 27 appearances in all competitions this term, along with two assists.

Unfortunately for the Hammers, their sharpshooter will be unavailable at the beginning of 2024 as he travels to the Ivory Coast to compete at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. The versatile attacker's absence could prove costly for David Moyes' side, who are battling it out for a top-6 spot in the Premier League and will be in FA Cup action in the coming weeks.

Here, GOAL takes a look at the West Ham matches Kudus could miss while Ghana strut their stuff in Ivory Coast.

How many games will Mohamed Kudus miss?

The number of West Ham games that Kudus will miss will depend on how well Ghana performs in the competition.

That said, Kudus has already missed his first West Ham game due to international duty as he was not allowed to feature in the Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion. The 23-year-old was expected to report to camp on Tuesday, the same day as the Brighton game, after the Ghana FA requested his release for a pre-tournament camp, leaving West Ham boss David Moyes disgruntled.

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is scheduled to get underway in Ivory Coast on January 14. Ghana have been drawn in Group B with Egypt, Mozambique and Cape Verde. The Black Stars take on Cape Verde on January 14, Egypt on January 18 and Mozambique on January 22.

That means the electrifying winger is confirmed to miss at least three West Ham matches and could possibly return for their home clash against Bournemouth on February 1 if Ghana shockingly crashes out at the group stages itself.

However, given the four-time AFCON winners have been dumped out in AFCON group stages only once since 2006, which was last time out in what was one of their worst displays in the African showpiece, that's an unlikely scenario.

Worst-case scenario for West Ham: If Kudus' Ghana make it all the way to the AFCON final, which will be held on February 11 at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe, and West Ham remain alive in the FA Cup after the third round, that would rule the West Ham forward out for up to seven games for the East London outfit.