Essien Absence Big Blow

Michael Essien

Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas has conceded that the injury suffered by Michael Essien is a “big blow” to the Blues.

The Black Stars player suffered a cruciate ligament injury and is expected to be sidelined for up to six months – the third time in the midfielder’s career that he has had to endure a lengthy lay-off.

The 28-year-old has not travelled with the rest of the squad for their pre-season tour of Asia, but goalkeeper Petr Cech and defender Alex have both made the trip despite carrying injuries.

“We have nothing out of the ordinary apart from obviously Michael, who of course didn’t travel with the team. It’s a big blow for us, not only as a player but what he represents as a person,” Villas-Boas told reporters.

“Regarding other injuries, it is just normal pre-season injuries and discomforts due to the amount of training the players have been doing and the intensity they are putting in, in training sessions. There is nothing out of the ordinary with Alex and Villas-Boas’ men play a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lampur on Thursday and the manager insisted that the team would be looking for new ways to improve ahead of the start of the Premier League season.

“We are trying to build on a new way of playing and getting together ideas, and hopefully by August 7, when we initiate the week running into the Stoke game, we will be already almost with the experiences we need to bring us to success against Stoke,” he said.

“I don’t want to focus a lot on formations, these kinds of players offer the flexibility to play in various different ways so it is not just a question of formation giving me more than another one. With what they have we will try to find a better way to play so that they can potentiate their own talent.

Goal.com