Black Stars captain Andre Ayew was consigned to the bench in Ghana's crunch clash with the warriors of Zimbabwe on Tuesday afternoon.

The Al-Sadd forward did not play a part in the game until the last five minutes with many questioning what may have happened.

Ghana defeated Zimbabwe by a solitary goal in Harare in a game that was comfortably won without much trouble from the home side.

Andre Ayew picked up a groin injury during the final training session at the National Sports Stadium in Harare and as a precautionary measure he was rested for the tie.

'Thomas Partey was the hero for Ghana as he curled home a beautiful free kick in the first half to hand Ghana all three points.

The 31 year old forward revealed after the match that he was benched as a precautionary measure after picking up the injury.

“It was not an easy time and game for me and the other players but we are in a period where I have to be there for the team and every point is important but there are sometimes you have to up a collective decision,” Ayew told the media after the game.

“I think the boss did the right thing [by benching me in the game]. We spoke about the injury I was nursing and I’m just so happy that we have the points.

“I hope that we will continue like this against Ethiopia and the other game and I believe victory will be ours. Ghana will surely qualify for the World Cup,” he added.

It was the second consecutive win for Ghana after defeating the same opponents last Saturday 3-1 at the Cape Coast Stadium with the Ghana captain scoring the last goal in the 3-1 win.

Ghana will take on Ethiopia and South Africa in the next round of fixtures next month.