How many games will André Onana miss for Manchester United because of the AFCON 2023?

It hasn’t been an easy season for André Onana. He was brought in as David de Gea’s replacement at Manchester United last summer but so far is nowhere near on track to emulate the successes he reaped at Ajax and Inter Milan. United’s campaign seems to be going from bad to worse and Onana’s own individual performances have been far from inspiring.

Maybe this short break with Cameroon at AFCON 2023 will be just what he needs to disconnect and refocus. The 27-year-old had announced his retirement from international football in December 2022 after a bust-up with manager Rigobert Song at the World Cup. The pair managed to sort their differences out and the keeper was recalled and guarded the net in the crucial AFCON qualifier against Burundi last August.

Since then, he has made a further two appearances - including a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Mauritius but Fabrice Ondoa also seems to be back in the frame and Devis Epassy is another option so we will have to wait and see who Song decides to field as his first-choice keeper at this tournament.

Cameroon are in Group C alongside Gambia, Guinea and Senegal and while they don’t figure among the favourites to win AFCON 2023 (the Lions are at +1000), they should at least get past the group stage.

If the Lions finish top of their group, they will face one of the third-placed rivals from groups A,B or F. If they end as runners-up in their group, they will face the team that finishes second in Group A (Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau or Nigeria).

Permission to remain in Manchester

Onana’s case is slightly different to other Premier League stars taking part at AFCON 2023 in that he has been granted permission to join up with the Cameroon squad a little later than the rest of his team mates. The keeper will join up with the Lions at the start of next week, meaning that he will be available for United’s next game - the Premier League clash with Spurs on Sunday.

That, of course, means he will miss the AFCON opener against Guinea.

If Cameroon bow out at the group stage, Onana could be on a flight back to Manchester as early as the 24th, so potentially, he might not miss any United games at all. After Spurs, Ten Hag’s team are not in action again until the 28th.

However, if Cameroon make it to the final, Onana will have to remain in the Ivory Coast until 11 February and return home during the week starting the 12th which would see him miss this month’s FA Cup tie plus three crucial league games against Wolves, West Ham and Villa.

Ten Hag has Tom Heaton and loanee Altay Bayindir as his options to guard the net in Onana’s absence although neither has featured this season.