Shanghai SIPG striker Asamoah Gyan has reportedly refused to appear in court to defend himself over a rape and sodomy case charged to him by a certain Sarah Kwablah, which could have serious consequences for the Ghanaian captain in the future.

Ghana Web reported that the 30-year-old Ghana international is "missing in court" after he was called to "witness in the case to testify whether he raped and sodomized Sarah Kwablah".

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The report noted that if Gyan continues to snub the legal court of law proceedings, then the judiciary agency might consider all of Kwablah's testaments as "facts and for that matter" and that the footballer might be arrested and eventually incarcerated.

The article also mentioned that Kwablah is included in a list of four suspects who allegedly extorted money from the Black Stars captain. The names of the other suspects are Osarfo Anthony, Chris Handler, and Ekow Micah. The case is also still ongoing in the court.

Gyan is currently struggling in his career with the China top flight squad as he was recently relegated to the reserve team after the Chinese transfer record-breaking acquisition of Brazilian winger Hulk last June.

It was not immediately known whether Gyan's off-pitch troubles are directly related to his toils on the field.

Meanwhile, Ghana Soccernet indicated that the 6-foot-1 Accra native is recently being eyed by English Premier League side West Ham United FC as head coach Slaven Bilić is said to be searching for a new striker to add to his roster before the new English top flight season starts this week.

It was mentioned that "West Ham could be the perfect location for the world-class striker" to revive his plummeting career as a move back to Europe could make things better for the injury-prone forward.

Gyan had already played in the Premier League before when he suited up for Sunderland AFC during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. He played a total of 37 games for the Black Cats in all competitions then and had scored 11 goals.

TagsChina Football, Chinese Super League, Chinese Super League news, Chinese Super League rumors, Asamoah Gyan, Shanghai SIPG FC