{"id":24843,"date":"2011-12-31T13:38:18","date_gmt":"2011-12-31T13:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/12\/essien-set-for-january-return\/"},"modified":"2011-12-31T13:38:18","modified_gmt":"2011-12-31T13:38:18","slug":"essien-set-for-january-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/31\/essien-set-for-january-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Essien set for January return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chelsea Chelsea coach Villas-Boas says Essien is likely to return to action in January<\/span> <\/p>\n

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set for a first team start in mid-January after recovering from a serious knee injury.<\/p>\n

The Ghanaian has not played this season after suffering the injury before the first match of the campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas says Essien is nearing the stage where he could compete for a starting place.<\/p>\n

“He (Essien) will return to the squad in mid-January and will be available for matches,” said Villas-Boas.<\/p>\n

“I think that in three weeks, he will be in a posiiton to compete for a starting place.”<\/p>\n

Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at the start of pre-season training, just the latest in a series of injuries that have disrupted his career.<\/p>\n

He has been plagued by knee injuries during his time at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

Essien sustained another cruciate problem in September 2008 that ruled him out until the following March.<\/p>\n

The midfielder also missed last year’s World Cup after tearing medial knee ligaments<\/a> during training for the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2010.<\/p>\n

He was not included in the Ghana squad for next month’s renewal of the Africa Cup of Nations which is being co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.<\/p>\n

Essien joined Chelsea from French club Lyon in 2005 in a \u00a324.4m deal and has gone on to establish himself as a key player at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chelsea coach Villas-Boas says Essien is likely to return to action in January Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set for a first team start in mid-January after recovering from a serious knee injury. The Ghanaian has not played this season after suffering the injury before the first match of the campaign . Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas says Essien is nearing the stage where he could compete for a starting place<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nEssien set for January return - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/31\/essien-set-for-january-return\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Essien set for January return - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Chelsea coach Villas-Boas says Essien is likely to return to action in January Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set for a first team start in mid-January after recovering from a serious knee injury. 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