Chelsea’s Essien out with knee injury
25 year old Michael Essien will probably be out for the rest of the year as he recently obtained an ankle injury while playing in an International game between Ghana and Libya. Essien was injured before this injury and didn’t start for Chelsea’s first game; he had just recovered from that unjury when a ligament in his knee was torn while playing for Ghana. “Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time. In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.”
His agent Fabian Piveteau said, “Unfortunately it’s not good news. I am afraid it’s a big problem. A big problem. He’s taken a bad blow to the knee. I don’t know exact details but I think it’s not good. I don’t know what will happen. It’s now two or three times that he has taken blows to his knee.”
Essien signed with Chelsea from Lyon three years ago for €24 million and has become a deciding factor in Chelsea’s game. This could severly hurt Chelsea as they won’t be able to obtain another player of similar caliber to replace him until the transfer window opens in January. Essien has scored 14 goals in 132 appearances.
Terry commented on the injury saying heexpects Essien to be out for “five, five and a half month I think will be the case.”
Once swelling in the area has gone down Essien will undergo surgery on his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Michael Owen obtained the same injury in the 2006 World Cup and was out for 10 months. Chelsea released a statement describing the injury and when he might return: “Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time. In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.” The ACL lies behind the kneecap and is important in stabilizing the joint and preventing overextension. Tendons from the hamstring are often grafted onto the knee which then replaces the ACL. While surgery is not always needed for athletes it can reduce rehabiliation time and possibly prevent arthritis in the future.
ahh essien is tight, hes always been decdicated…this is pretty huge for him and chelsea.