The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is now well underway and the drama is already in full flow in the Ivory Coast.

It’s been the tournament of the underdog so far, with the likes of Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Angola and Namibia all defying the FIFA rankings to pick up results against African giants.

As a result, a number of high-profile Premier League stars are already facing early exits from AFCON, which will likely come as good news to the top-division sides currently without some of their best performers.

Here are some of the Premier League players who could be returning to their clubs sooner than expected.

It’s worth noting that the four best performing third-placed sides in the group stage will also qualify for the knockout rounds, meaning it will be darn difficult for the big hitters to depart AFCON early.

However, Nigeria have frequently underachieved at AFCON in the past and haven’t made a great start to the 2023 tournament. The Super Eagles could only manage a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in their Group A opener, a team 46 places below them in the FIFA rankings.

Nigeria’s loss would be Fulham’s gain, the Cottagers able to welcome Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey back to their squad should the Super Eagles be knocked out early.

It would also serve as good news to Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest, who would get Ola Aina back, while Frank Onyeka would also return to Brentford.

An early departure remains a possibility for Egypt. The Pharaohs drew their first game with lowly Mozambique, needing a 96th-minute penalty to spare their blushes. With Ghana up next before a clash with Cape Verde, Rui Vitoria’s side need positive results in their final two games of Group B.

Egypt were runners-up at 2021 AFCON, losing to Senegal in the final on penalties. The seven-time record winners are usually a strong knockout team and a group-stage exit would be nothing short of a disaster for the Pharaohs.

However, with a busy and defining period at the end of January and beginning of February, Liverpool wouldn’t be too saddened to see Mohamed Salah find his way back to Merseyside. Meanwhile, Arsenal, who play the Reds next month, would also see Mohamed Elneny return to north London should Egypt crash out in the group stage.

Ghana made an even worse start to Group B then their major qualification rivals Egypt, losing 2-1 in stoppage-time to Cape Verde in their opener. Some comical defending saw them fall to an underwhelming defeat, with the Black Stars now up against it to qualify in an automatic spot.

The four-time champions face Egypt in a crunch clash next up before meeting a Mozambique team that caused Salah’s side plenty of problems.

One reason behind Ghana’s disappointing display against Cape Verde was the absence of West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus. The attacker has been in devastating form for the Hammers but is currently nursing an injury.

Jordan Ayew was also unable to prevent defeat for Ghana, the Crystal Palace attacker still sharing the field with brother and former Swansea City and West Ham forward Andre. Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo also started against Cape Verde but was hooked after an hour.

Cameroon could only secure a 1-1 draw in their Group C clash with Guinea, despite the fact that their opponents were reduced to ten players before half-time. With current holders Senegal also in their group, the five-time champions won’t find it easy to qualify automatically.

Andre Onana is the only Premier League player currently representing Cameroon at AFCON, although he didn’t feature for the Indomitable Lions in their opener.

Having asked to delay his call-up with Cameroon until after Manchester United’s clash with Tottenham on 14 January, Onana will now be available for the rest of the group stage.