Chelsea Without Essien Until 2012

Michael Essien's latest knee injury will keep him on the sidelines for up to six months Chelsea have confirmed.

There remain fears, however, that after damaging ligaments in his right knee during training last week that Essien still might not play any part of the forthcoming campaign.

Chelsea sought to allay those fears by confirming that Essien had undergone an operation. “Following an injury to his right knee in training last week, Michael Essien had surgery to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus,” the club said in a statement.

“The surgery was successful and Michael’s full recovery could take up to six months.”

Such injuries would, until relatively recently, have let to a much longer recuperation period but the advances in surgery and rehabilitation have improved that.

However given the 28-year-old’s worrying history of injuries, and particularly knee problems, his recovery will be closely monitored by

Chelsea’s medical staff. The injury is a serious blow to the plans of manager Andre Villas-Boas who is currently assessing the strength of his squad ahead of next week’s pre-season tour to Asia.

Essien was ruled out for more than six months in 2008 when he sustained cruciate ligament damage and he also missed the 2010 World Cup because of a knee problem.

There have already been suggestions that during the last campaign Essien is not quite the player he was when he joined Chelsea, from Lyon, in 2005 for £24.4m and established himself as one of the most powerful midfielders in world football.

Last night Villas-Boas said: “His team-mates and all the staff and I look forward to helping him return to playing as soon as possible.”

The injury is likely to affect Villas-Boas’s transfer plans although the club had already bid for Luka Modric. The manager may now have to consider other options in central midfield.