MONGOMO, Equatorial Guinea - Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan was diagnosed with malaria while at the African Cup of Nations and was admitted to the hospital in the remote eastern town of Mongomo in Equatorial Guinea, the Ghana Football Association said on Sunday.

The GFA said that Gyan was taken to the hospital on Saturday night, but released on Sunday morning. It was "a mild bout" of malaria, the GFA said.

"The illness was detected at an early stage and Gyan is responding well to treatment," the GFA said in a statement on its official website.

Ghana's squad is based in far-eastern Equatorial Guinea for the group stage of the African soccer championship. Mongomo — on Equatorial Guinea's eastern border with Gabon — is one of two remote and little-known venues chosen to host games after Equatorial Guinea stepped in at short notice to take over the tournament from initial host Morocco.

Gyan is now doubtful for Ghana's first game of the tournament against Senegal on Monday, the GFA said, and he will be monitored by doctors after being released from the hospital. The striker had been unable to train for two days.

Large swathes of West and Central Africa carry a high risk of malaria, the World Health Organization says. The disease can be fatal if it is left untreated.

Small Central Africa nation Equatorial Guinea is hosting the three-week African Cup of Nations after Morocco withdrew late last year because of fears over the possible spread of Ebola.