Chelsea’s Michael Essien out until February
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Chelsea’s Michael Essien out until February
Michael Essien is unlikely to play again for Chelsea until February after a scan confirmed yesterday that he had torn his right hamstring in Tuesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Apoel.
The Ghana midfield player will be out of action for three to four weeks, by which time he will be due to report for international duty with his country at the African Cup of Nations.
Essien’s injury could also lead to a stand-off between Chelsea and the Ghana FA if the club deem him not to have recovered sufficiently by the time the competition begins in Angola on January 10. As a Fifa-sanctioned tournament, Chelsea cannot prevent him from reporting for duty despite the fact that they pay his wages, but they could insist on him travelling with a club doctor to ensure that he receives the appropriate treatment.
Chelsea angered the Ivory Coast FA two years ago by scheduling a knee operation for Didier Drogba in the middle of December, which they feared would compromise his availability, although he recovered to play a full part in the tournament.
Essien should be fit for the start of the tournament in any case, although his absence for two months at a crucial time of the season still represents a setback for Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, will be particularly annoyed that the injury occurred in what was essentially a meaningless fixture, a scenario he had done his best to avoid by resting key players such as Nicolas Anelka, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole.
Chelsea have six matches in the next month as they seek to maintain their position at the top of the Barclays Premier League and a player of Essien’s ability and athleticism will be sorely missed.
The 27-year-old is a crucial member of Ancelotti’s squad because he can play in several positions, excelling as a defensive and attacking midfield player and even at right back, providing a level of versatility that is not easily replaced.
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start liao start liao
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What start liao?
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ancelotti's real test.
africa cup coming, injuries starting.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
What start liao?
Chelsea's breaking point I presume?
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he is going to play in african nations cup in Jan and miss for the whole of January anyway.
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Essien only plays for them if he is fully fit.
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No worry lah... Just watch them go in the Jan transfer market...
And I don't find Essien to be a very important member of the team right now... Drogba and A Cole are the 2 main ones for me so far... Lampard seemed to have lost a little somehow, maybe its the position he is playing right now of simply just age catching up with him cos I don't see him playing his usual box to box style very often this season...
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ho sey lia0