Just days ago, TheChelseaBlog wondered whether history could be repeating itself with Michael Essien – and despite crossing enough fingers and toes to make even your average contortionist look rigid, it’s starting to look worryingly close to being the case.

As we know, Essien was ruled out of ACON yesterday after breaking down in training and Ghana team-mate Anthony Annan says “Michael was turning to make a pass when he just went down.  There was no contact from any other player, but those around him say they heard a click, and then the physios rushed over.”

And with rumours surfacing that he could miss not only the remainder of the season for Chelsea but also this summer’s World Cup for his country, Essien himself is devastated, saying “I will know more when I come back to London. But I knew it was a bad injury as soon as I did it.  For me it`s devastating because I was desperate to play for Ghana and Chelsea and help both my club and country win titles.”

An initial scan at a Luanda hospital showed up torn medial collateral ligament and damage to the meniscus in Essien’s left knee, however, although he’s already on his way back, he isn’t expected back at our training ground until Thursday at the earliest so it could be Friday before we know what’s really going on.

Ancelotti has apparently been given assurance by our medical team that Essien doesn’t have dodgy knees and that this really is a case of sheer bad luck but bearing in mind reconstructive surgery on the same knee saw him miss out for six months last time, Ancelotti’s probably rethinking that theory about him being a lucky manager!

Filed under: Current Players, Injuries, Rants