Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac has defended the inclusion of Stephen Appiah in his provisional 30-man squad after a close to dormant season for the 29-year-old.
Appiah made two appearances for Bologna in the run-in to the season and seems to have regained his confidence ahead of the team's pre-tournament training camp in Paris next week.
Rajevac believes Appiah on and off-the-pitch qualities is crucial to his team's success despite criticisms of including the former Fenerbahce midfielder.
"He is a big personality whose leadership is important,†Rajevac told the Ghana FA's official website.
"Appiah now has a club where he's played in some matches, training matches, for the reserves and is doing everything that other players are doing. It’s just that he hasn’t played much competitive games.
"It depends on himself. Once he’s fully fit then he can be there [World Cup].
"But I must say, Appiah’s condition now is better than before."
Appiah captained Ghana at the 2006 World Cup and looks set to make a second successive appearance in South Africa next month.