There is a rising star who may make a big impact in next year’s African Cup of Nations as Ghana chases a successful campaign in Angola.

Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac is hoping his players to stay fit by then and hit form for the 32-fixture tournament involving 16 nations. Among them is Udinese’s Kwadwo Asamoah.

Asamoah, who has been part of Ghana’s qualifying campaign, has returned from injury and played in the Black Stars’ last two appearances having scored a goal in a total of four games.

Rajevac has not lost sight of the contributions from the midfielder and is counting on him to rise to the occasion.

"Asamoah is a very good player who is important to our team. He has the quality to make a difference whenever he is on the pitch,” the Black Stars coach told www.ghanafa.org.

“I think he is yet to reach his best form. I hope he gets there before the Nations Cup starts. You can see that he is still coming back from injury. When he is fully recovered, he can really make a difference.

“When you have a player like him, who can create space and score, then it’s good for the team."

The timing might be right for Asamoah to take his chances at the 2010 CAN, which could be his second successive tournament for the Black Stars.

He was an unused substitute at the 2008 Nations Cup hosted by Ghana.

Ghana have been drawn in Group B alongside Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo in an all West-African battle for the African Cup of Nations finals early next year.