Finally, after waiting a bloody age, we’ve seen Michael Essien back on the pitch! Ok, so it was a reserve game and we lost 4-3 to Villa but so what? He played the full 90 minutes – and he scored!

He showed no signs of any discomfort in his first game since the cruciate ligament injury he suffered six months ago, and with Guus Hiddink looking on, the Ghanaian midfielder has signalled his intent to get himself straight back in the first team.

And the temporary Chelsea boss is clearly delighted, saying “His return will make a huge difference now we’re going into a decisive month. I’ve also seen him in training sessions and he’s very close to playing in the first team.”

And whilst I’m not so sure he’ll be risked in the game against Coventry on Saturday, it’s a fair bet he’ll feature in our Champions League game against Juve next week.

Great news!

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