Essien & Mikel back in training

[Hutch]

from the official site, with apologies if it's already been posted:

Ray Wilkins has confirmed Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi are on course to be fully fit for the opening of the league title defence, but admits the condition of the World Cup players will need careful handling.

Essien and Mikel were both denied participation in South Africa by knee injuries but speaking to Chelsea TV at training this week, the assistant first team coach reported pre-season is going well for the two midfielders.

'There should be no problem whatsoever,' Wilkins said as he looks towards 14 August.

'John Obi is slightly in advance of Michael Essien but they are both working very well indeed. They have been working double sessions for the last week and we will get them really firing before the season starts.'

Essien himself reports no reaction from the previously problematic knee following training sessions.

Their return to the squad will be welcome at a time when many others have had little time to recharge batteries.

'Normally after a World Cup you find with those players who come back from it, it is about December when they seem to hit a wall,' Wilkins told Chelsea TV.

'It is very important we manage them in the correct manner and we get them to a level where they won't be as fit as we want them to be, but as they creep into the new year their fitness will come back.

'The players we have got here now [training at Cobham], we have to get them into the right fitness condition so that they are prepared to play, because we might not be able to use the guys coming back from the World Cup for the first couple of games. So these young men have to be primed and ready to perform.'

One player in full pre-season training is new signing Yossi Benayoun who is noticing a change to his July routine.

'Yossi is doing well,' noted Wilkins. 'He has said the pre-season training here is so different to what they did at Liverpool where they didn't use a ball. They ran and they ran and they ran. But here we use the ball all the time and we feel we get the best out of the guys by using the ball day in day out. I think Yossi is quite enjoying himself.'

LINK

[ws6blue]

essie massive asset to get back, his driving runs and box2box ability up there with the best

mikel not sure about.............he hasn't kicked on much and cos he always plays it short I am not sure carlo is a big fan - Carlo has stated he wants to vary it and go fast & long sometimes - mikel hasn't got long game at all.............................may see a change this year, maybe matic will come in as holding player, he looks decent player with good range passing

[Hutch]

Essien delight at return

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has expressed his delight at making a goalscoring return to action in a pre-season win over Crystal Palace.

The Ghana international missed the second half of last season with a knee injury, a blow that also curtailed his World Cup finals.

However, Essien has been back in full training and made a long-awaited comeback in Saturday's 1-0 friendly success at Selhurst Park.

Essien bagged the winner for Chelsea, who were without a host of first-team regulars, with a left-foot shot from the edge of the area on the hour mark.

"It feels good, it's been a long time but I am back in full training now, everything is good and there is no reaction from the training, so things are looking good for me," Essien told the club'sofficial website.

"I didn't have any holidays because of my rehab, but it will be good to start up again and I am looking forward to the rest of the boys coming back as well.

"I'd love to have been there playing at the end of the season, it wasn't easy for me but I supported my team-mates to win their matches, that's all I could do.

"I became a supporter and to end the season with two trophies was amazing and I was enjoying it like everyone even though I didn't play the whole season."

LINK

[BigIzz]

essie massive asset to get back, his driving runs and box2box ability up there with the best

mikel not sure about.............he hasn't kicked on much and cos he always plays it short I am not sure carlo is a big fan - Carlo has stated he wants to vary it and go fast & long sometimes - mikel hasn't got long game at all.............................may see a change this year, maybe matic will come in as holding player, he looks decent player with good range passing

Mikel is far from perfect but he was very important to our success last season. He started a lot of important games and we can't underestimate his contributions.

[evissy]

Mikel is far from perfect but he was very important to our success last season. He started a lot of important games and we can't underestimate his contributions.

Mikel needs to be given a little bit freedom in the midfield. Maybe Essien can give him that. They would cover for each other. Mikel did some nice moves in the Palace game and it just shows how talented he is but is restricted to use his attacking abilities. He is suffocated down there. I'm hoping Carlo sees this and lets the boy play properly. We made too much effort to buy him and he has performed brilliantly in maybe handful of games. If we can't use his best abilities we might as well sell him.

[Cam]

Mikel needs to be given a little bit freedom in the midfield. Maybe Essien can give him that. They would cover for each other. Mikel did some nice moves in the Palace game and it just shows how talented he is but is restricted to use his attacking abilities. He is suffocated down there. I'm hoping Carlo sees this and lets the boy play properly. We made too much effort to buy him and he has performed brilliantly in maybe handful of games. If we can't use his best abilities we might as well sell him.

Yep, both Essien and Mikel are very capable defensive midfielders...though it's probably neither of their best positions.

If they both play (and Lampard) in a midfield three...Mikel can do the bulk of the defensive work, but if the opportunity arises, can push forward (to provide something different), while Essien takes up the defensive slack.

[Randy36]

Mikel missed the World Cup because of a knee injury.

I read where he has been recalled to the Nigerian squad for a friendly against the Korea Republic on 11th August.

Let's hope he doesn't reinjure that knee!

[Hutch]

Michael Essien is ready and raring to go. from the official site:

In part one of the first big interview of 2010/11, returning midfield maestro Michael Essien discusses his return from injury and his aims for the season ahead...

After the euphoria that brought last season to a close, the summer has been something of a frustration after four consecutive pre-season defeats, but the one highlight has been the return to action of a much-missed midfielder.

Absent for seven months, Michael Essien made his comeback in the first friendly of the summer at Crystal Palace, scoring the winner, and has gone on to play more minutes in the build-up to the season than any other Chelsea player.

Now we stand on the verge of another Premier League campaign, and the early signs are that the midfielder will be a central figure in Carlo Ancelotti's plans, both literally and metaphorically speaking. Essien though seems delighted to be back doing what he loves after a testing lay-off.

'It feels so good to be back, it has been a long way back but everything is behind me now and I'm enjoying playing football again,' explains the Ghanaian. 'I never feared for my career, it never crossed my mind.

'These injuries are part of football, so you have to take them when they come and not get too down about it.

'I knew if I worked hard I would be back again so that's what I did and I am back on my feet. I know a few years ago it could have been the end of my career but with new technologies, surgery and techniques things are good, so yeah, let's go again this season.

'We've had a bit of a bad pre-season with losing games but more importantly it has been good for me to be gaining fitness again and making sure I am sharp and ready for the season.'

In contrast to many of his team-mates, Essien had to sit out Africa's first World Cup, a blow for a man proud of his roots, but in doing so he has given himself the best opportunity of a clean bill of health in the new campaign, and demonstrated the importance of pre-season to a footballer.

He reported back at Cobham on July 5 ready to go, three weeks before the English and Portuguese internationals who were in South Africa, and although at first he had a tailored programme, he is now with the rest of the squad and feeling the benefits.

'It is good to have a pre-season under my belt, personally I think I have done well and I keep getting fitter the more games I play. I feel like I am ready for the season and I am looking forward to it so much,' he says.

'I think this season could be a big one, the last two seasons I didn't take too big a part in, I didn't start in one but finished it, then I started okay last season but didn't finish it, so this year has to be a good one and hopefully I will stay injury-free and help Chelsea win some trophies.

'My main aim has to be to stay fit, to keep working hard and helping the team to get as many points as we can.'

If the 27-year-old can achieve that goal, then there is every chance silverware will be returning to Stamford Bridge at the end of May, and he will once more be able to celebrate alongside his team-mates on the pitch, rather than as a mere onlooker from the stands.

Tomorrow in part two of this exclusive interview, Michael will be discussing the state of the squad as it is and his desire to stay at the Bridge for years to come.

LINK

[evissy]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19082010/63/mikel-seeks-success.html

Mikel seeks more success

Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi is ready to hold off the threat from new signing Ramires by insisting he can help the club retain their Barclays Premier League title.

Mikel's position in the holding midfield role will be contested by Ramires, who joined from Benfica in an £18.2million move last week. Mikel's position allows Michael Essien and Frank Lampard to get forward and support the attack, and while Ramires can play in any of the three positions, it is the Nigerian midfielder who will be feeling the heat.

But he is purely focused on helping Chelsea retain the title and paid to tribute to coach Carlo Ancelotti for his faith in him. "I feel at home at Chelsea," said Mikel. "When I signed I was only 19 and looking back I have really enjoyed my four years at the club.

"In that time I have learned a lot, gained more experience and I know how to read the game better. After all that time playing for a team like this in a league like this, you'll always be better for it.

"I'm very happy playing under Carlo Ancelotti. After a season together I feel I know him well. He's a manager I can speak to, in many ways he's like a father. He gives me great confidence. Winning the Premier League was the big one to add to my list. I had won every other domestic trophy since arriving at Chelsea in the summer of 2006.

"But it took until May this year to get my first Premier League winners' medal. It's fantastic to have been able to win all those things by the age of 23 but I suppose that is the benefit of starting your career early. I know there are a lot of great players out there who haven't won any of those things. I feel very happy and very blessed. The next one to add is the Champions League."

Very good to hear Mikel feels at home in Chelsea. He seems like a shy boy but Don-Carlo's taken him under his wing. Probably good to be in that position. I've always hoped to see more of Mikel's attacking skills but to think of it he has already played the districted role given to him very well. For a young boy he already is a Chelsea veteran and won everything but the CL.