KANSAS CITY -- Once the bright young thing of the Ghana setup, Abdul Rahman Baba's career trajectory was transformed by a devastating injury suffered in 2017, but now back in the Black Stars fold, he's relishing the role of elder statesman with the national side.
The leftback had once appeared primed to be a regular for Ghana for the best part of a decade, and while he's still amassed over a half-century of international appearances, that severe knee injury sustained during the Africa Cup of Nations over nine years ago doubtless denied him his peak years for the Black Stars.
Twisting on a terrible playing surface in Franceville, during Ghana's AFCON 2017 opener against Uganda, Baba was diagnosed with a severe rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), as well as meniscus damage.
He'd made 15 Premier League appearances for Chelsea the season before, having been signed by Jose Mourinho in 2015, and was on loan at Schalke 04 when injury struck.
In the previous 18 months before his knee injury, he'd played 28 league games, over the next five and a half seasons, he's play just 29 league games, such was the extent of his injury and the arduous, winding nature of his recovery.
"It would take a lot of time for me to talk about everything I experienced during those years," he told ESPN, "but yeah, it's been difficult. Some days, it was difficult to put everything together - mind and psychology.
"It was difficult, but I'm glad that I was able to fight through everything and to get to this stage."
Many players never truly recover from such moments, and indeed, Baba has talked about crushing lows, moments of solitude, and even struggling to identify that his own new reconstructed knee actually belonged to him.
He steadily began to pull himself out of the psychological battles that accompany elite athletes who attempt to rediscover the level that once seemed so natural, returning to regular action with Reading in 20-21 before eventually leaving Chelsea permanently in 2023 to sign for Greek heavyweights PAOK.
After his injury in early 2017, he remained at the Stamford Bridge giants for a further six and a half years, without ever playing a further minute for the club.
He's been determined not to let that injury become the defining chapter of his career, and nine years after that injury, finds himself enjoying an unexpected Indian summer with the Black Stars, having been recalled by head coach Carlos Queiroz for the World Cup.
Only 22, and a relatively new face in the squad when injury struck, Baba is still growing accustomed to being one of the side's older, wiser heads.
"It's nice [to be back]," he added. "It's always been amazing being part of the setup.
"It's kind of funny because most of the guys actually look up to me. They ask me lots of advice at stuff.
"It's funny because I remember myself being the youngest one here, and now I'm also someone who can pass on information to the guys. I'm really happy about it."
The left back has been brought along primarily in a backup capacity by Queiroz, playing just one minute to date - in the 0-0 draw with England in Boston - while first-choice Gideon Mensah has established himself as one of the most impressive fullbacks of the tournament.
Yet Baba's true value in this squad isn't exclusively felt with what he can do on the pitch, but by - as he points out - what his presence can mean to the younger players in the squad.
He's particularly enjoyed working with Mensah - his direct rival for leftback - as well as Marvin Senaya, on the opposite flank, who has made the rightback berth his own despite only committing to Ghana in March.
"They've been amazing," Baba says of the fullback duo. "They've been terrific for me.
"You can see the defensive shape, and even when we attack, you can see the support they give to the team.
"It's been wonderful so far."
Beyond his advice, he's also an example of what can be achieved when one refuses to surrender to circumstance, even when the other options - quietly fading from the top-tier career for which he once seemed destined - would be much easier.
Queiroz has consistently valued experience alongside youthful energy, and Baba's understanding of tournament football, of pressure, of overcoming adversity, are underpinning a Ghana side who have arguably overachieved at the tournament to date.
Baba's willingness to embrace the responsibility of being one of the squad's elder statesmen is perhaps another reason why the Portuguese head coach was keen to bring him back into the told, despite the competition.
His focus now is on keeping his younger teammates grounded as Ghana prepare for a Last 32 match against Colombia on Friday - their first World Cup knockout game in 16 years.
"This is the business end of the tournament," he shared with ESPN, "and everyone's now playing to win. We're confident in ourselves."
As Ghana's campaign is finding momentum, the Black Stars are steadily settling into a new identity under the pragmatic Queiroz.
So too, Baba, is finding a new sense of purpose and meaning in this latter chapter of his career, even though it might not be the career progression once expected of him during his halcyon days at Stamford Bridge.
That Chelsea move didn't unfold as originally intended, while the devastating injury in Gabon lingers as the moment that altered his career.
But Baba appears to have accepted that football rarely follows the script we anticipate, and he's still adding value to the national-team cause, as the experienced wise old head helping the Black Stars undergo a transition of their own.