One week, you’re on the verge of signing a Brazilian superstar from Real Madrid, a player who will surely make you are complete in every department. A few days later and, not only have you missed out on this transfer target, it also transpires that arguably your best man in the entire squad is going to be out of action for a number of months. It’s fair to say that Phil Scolari is currently tearing out what little he has left of his hair.
The Daily Mirror report that Michael Essien has incurred a knee injury while playing for Ghana which will see him sidelined for ‘several months’. While Chelsea have several other midfield options and a densely-populated squad, they have very few players who are as versatile or simply as excellent as this African powerhouse.
A statement on the club’s official website confirmed that the midfielder has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. They anticipate that will happen in a week’s time.
Rafael Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson have dodged a potential bullet by ensuring that their midfielders have not gone on international duty, and it’s little wonder that club managers are reluctant to release players when this sort of thing happens. Naturally, Phil Scolari has been on the other side of the fence and therefore understands the predicament from an international point-of-view. However, just how big a blow is this to the Premier League and Champions League pretenders?