The Essien injury debacle
After a long wait
for Michael Essien, the Ghana Football Authority (GFA) stated on
Wednesday that the Ghanaian captain will not be fit in time for the
World Cup which starts in a fortnight.
The statement on
the GFA site read in part: “An evaluation by a combined team of medical
experts from the Ghana Football Association and Chelsea Football Club
revealed that Essien will not make full recovery until the end of July.
The Ghana Football Association wishes him full recovery and a quick
return to football action.”
Unending rehabilitation
The 27-year-old
Chelsea midfielder has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury
during the African Cup of Nations in January.
It had been thought
that Essien would return before the end of the season alongside Ashley
Cole for Chelsea. Cole fractured his left ankle on February 10 2010
against Everton. The 28-year-old England international though returned
in time to help the Blues grab the double, scoring the last goal in the
8-0 rout of Wigan on the last day.
What next for the Black Stars
This will further
heap a lot of pressure on recuperating Stephen Appiah, who has not
played club football for a year and Sulley Muntari, as both are not as
dynamic as Essien.
Essien played in 10
of Ghana’s 11 qualification matches, clocking more than 800 minutes of
game time, as Ghana finished at the top of their group, and
automatically sealed a spot at the World Cup. The Ghana coach had said
last week that Essien’s presence was invaluable to the Black Stars.
“Essien is an
important player, not only for Ghana but for the World Cup. He is one
of the best players in the world and the World Cup is an assembly of
the best,” said Coach Milovan Rajevac.
The coach must now tinker with the favoured 4-4-2 formation to
accommodate Udinese’s Kwadwo Asamoah alongside Sulley Muntari and
Appiah. Although Ghana won’t lack for presence in the centre of the
park, there will be something missing; and that will be Michael Essien,
who would make the line-up for any of the nations at the 2010 World Cup
a better team.
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