Essien likely to miss at least six weeks with knee injury

Poignant SG

• Chelsea fear Essien has torn left medial ligament
• Midfielder set to miss Arsenal and Internazionale games

Michael Essien was late arriving in Angola, played 45 minutes against Ivory Coast and was then injured in training. Photograph: Adam Davy/Empics

Michael Essien is due back in London by Thursday amid fears that the Chelsea midfielder has torn the medial ligament in his left knee. He will miss at least six weeks if that is confirmed, ruling him out of next month's potentially critical derby against Arsenal and the first leg of the Champions League tie against Internazionale.

The 27-year-old injured the knee on Sunday in training with the Ghana squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. A preliminary assessment undertaken by the national federation's medical staff suggested Essien had partially torn the medial ligament and damaged the meniscus in the joint, though Chelsea will conduct their own scans once the player reports back to Cobham, most likely on Thursday, with the results due the following day.

A despondent Essien is desperate to learn the extent of the damage suffered when he slipped while passing to a team-mate in training in Luanda. Chelsea have been in regular contact with the Ghanaians, who must win Tuesday's Group B game against Burkina Faso to proceed to the knockout phase of the competition, but will be hugely concerned at the prospect of being without the dynamic midfielder, in particular for the games against Arsenal – who could usurp them at the top of the Premier League if they beat Bolton by two goals at home on Wednesday – on 7 February and against Internazionale and José Mourinho at San Siro on 24 February.

the Bear SG

training?
i thought The Drog did him in during the match?

stellazio SG

i think he wasnt even fully fit in the first place when he went to acon..

and drog clashed into him, but a torn ligament cant be a result of the clash..

Poignant SG

Ghana players are gutted for teammate Michael Essien after the Chelsea midfielder broke down with a knee injury in training on Sunday.

Essien’s Ghana midfield partner Anthony Annan says Essien went down unchallenged.

He said: "Michael was turning to make a pass when he went down. There was no contact from any other player but those around him say they heard a click."

Ghana and NAC Breda striker Matthew Amoah said: "This is a big blow because Michael is so important to our team. We've lost the motor in our midfield, and this is very bad."