John Pantsil will finally end his 2007/08 campaign this Sunday when Ghana take on Gabon in their concluding 2010 World Cup qualifier of the summer.
The Black Stars have already played three times this month and sit top of qualifying Group 5 in the African zone. However, they lost last time out as they went down 2-0 away to this weekend's opponents - a result that has added extra spice to the return in Accra. The other two matches saw Ghana win 3-0 at home to Libya and 3-2 away to Lesotho, with Pantsil playing all 270 minutes of action to date.
The group action will recommence in September with Ghana highly fancied to secure one of two spots in the second phase of qualifying which will see 20 nations compete in five groups of four teams. Each section winner will then earn a place at the 2010 finals in South Africa, with Pantsil spurred on by memories of 2006 when he played a major role in Ghana reaching the second round.
Meanwhile, Pantsil's club-mate Lucas Neill has not been needed for a trip to Sydney for Australia's game against China as the Socceroos have already made it through their first qualifying group. The next West Ham United players to be in competitive action are set to be James Tomkins and Freddie Sears for England at the European Under-19 Championship when the Young Lions get things under way against the host nation Czech Republic on 14 July - in just three and a half weeks.