Essien in early return to Chelsea
Essien's injury has ruled him out for up to a month
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By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 18, Jan 2010 04:17
By Sam Ross.
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set to return to Chelsea after being ruled out of the African Cup of Nations.
The Ghanaian suffered a knee injury in training on Sunday morning and is believed to rule him out for up to a month - according to Ghana's national team doctor.
The news comes as a major blow for Ghana's African Cup of Nations ambitions with the Black Stars already missing John Pantsil, John Mensah, Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari.
Essien, who was acting as stand-in captain because of Appiah's absence, came on as a substitute for Ghana's 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast on Friday after struggling with a hamstring injury was left limping with crutches on Sunday morning as he was escorted off to hospital.
Later scans revealed that he suffered a partially torn medial ligament in his left knee and will now miss Ghana's crucial game against Burkina Faso on Tuesday as well as important Premier league and Champions league games for Chelsea.
Chelsea have been in contact with the Ghanaian football team and are said to be aware of the injury news and will fully assess it when Essien returns to London.