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Asamoah Gyan has stated that he "never fully recovered" from his penalty miss for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup after announcing his intention to take a break from international football. The Ghanaian, who is on loan with Al-Ain from Sunderland, famously missed a penalty in the closing minute of the quarter-final clash with Uruguay after Luis Suarez handballed on the line. Gyan also recently missed another crucial penalty in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in a 1-0 loss to Zambia. The 26-year-old has since announced that he is taking an indefinite break from international football but vows to come back mentally stronger. "Firstly, it's important I express my sincere apologies to my country," he said on his personal Twitter page. "I never intended to make a decision like this early on in my career. "Psychologically I am down. As you can imagine it's been very hard for me mentally to miss two important successive penalties for my country. "And because of this a break to recoup my thoughts and emotions will aid me to come back bigger and mentally stronger. "I never fully recovered from the 2010 World Cup and now 2012 Afcon. I want my country to know I love playing for them and I wouldn't be who I am without them. "I would like to ask for prayers and support from Ghanaians to help me to come back with a renewed strength to continue serving my country." New Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has recently expressed his desire to bring Gyan back since his arrival at the club.