Chelsea were last night coming to terms with the reality of losing Michael Essien until February after a scan on the midfielder's damaged right hamstring revealed a tear that will rule him out for three to four weeks.
His absence with the injury will then be compounded by his anticipated inclusion in Ghana's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, a three-week tournament that begins next month with the final on 31 January. Essien sustained the injury lunging for a loose ball during Chelsea's Champions League group game with Apoel Nicosia last night and, while it is too soon to determine whether the 27-year-old will be fit enough to start the finals in Angola, his predicted recovery time would offer Ghana encouragement that he could feature at some stage in the competition.
Negotiations between club and national federation over his prospective availability will take place while the player begins his rehabilitation in Cobham, but it seems likely that Ghana – who have seen their captain, Bologna's Stephen Appiah, struck down with a calf injury this week that will sideline him for a similar length of time – will want Essien, such a key player, to complete his recovery with them at the tournament. Fifa rules entitle them to call up their squad members two weeks before the finals begin.
The loss is a significant blow to Carlo Ancelotti, whose side's lead at the top of the Premier League was cut to two points after last Saturday's defeat at Manchester City. The Ghanaian's dynamism has been impressive in recent weeks, yet a recent spate of injuries – Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa and now Essien have all suffered thigh or hamstring strains of various severity in recent months – will trouble the Italian and his assistant, Bruno Demichelis, who prided themselves in partnership at Milan on their preventative treatments aimed at maximising resistance to such problems. The pace and physicality of the game in England compared with life in Serie A may require those techniques to be tweaked to prove effective in the Premier League.
The injury provided a depressing subplot to a dispiriting evening at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti made his frustrations known to his players in the wake of the draw with Apoel as he attempts to eradicate the sudden vulnerability that has seen the team ship seven goals in their last three winless matches. John Mikel Obi, who will initially be considered the Londoners' first-choice holding midfielder in Essien's absence, made a dreadful error three minutes from time to present the Cypriots with their equaliser with the Nigerian admitting his mistake in the aftermath.
"I was going to play the ball back to JT but the striker anticipated it and when he had the ball, I couldn't get him," he said. "It was a very big mistake from me, but the mistake is done now. I take responsibility for it but I think overall we didn't play well enough in the second half. The manager was really, really mad with the way we played in the second half.
"We had lost the last two games and playing at home we should have won. We played well in the first half but the second half we didn't move the ball quickly and you could smell the danger coming. It is good that we are now playing two games at home [against Everton and Portsmouth]. We owe the manager because he is really mad and we have to make sure we win these next two games."e recent toils may prompt Ancelotti to pursue targets in next month's transfer window more vigorously than he had originally intended. A number of potential candidates have been identified, headed by Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguëro, with incomings anticipated in what could yet prove to be the club's last opportunity to sign players until the summer of 2011. Chelsea are one of a number of clubs to have watched the Ajax forward Luis Suárez in recent weeks though suggestions from the player's agent, Daniel Fonseca, that a deal has already been agreed appear premature.
The 22-year-old Uruguayan, an attacking midfielder or second striker, has plundered over 20 goals in each of the last three seasons in Holland and, while Ajax would listen to offers for the attacker, they would need to secure a replacement prior to sanctioning his sale. A more plausible option for Ancelotti would be the Italy forward Giampaolo Pazzini, a player he greatly admires with the 25-year-old potentially available from Sampdoria for around £19m.
