The club made a statement about a minor tendon problem.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2347467,00.html

I love Essien. He has always been one of my favorites, but I really fear that this guys career is going downhill. Ever since that knee injury he hasn't been the same and it seems like the little injuries have become more and more with him. It was a great move getting Ramires this year to take the pressure of him, but who knows what will happen with him. I'm sure he will stay but Mikel seems like a player much more fit for the holding role. He is bigger and more durable.

When I saw it happen in real time, I thought it was a groin injury, and so this is actually good news for me.

I think Essien will come back to his old form, he just needs a full 2 months of off-season to just rest.

When I saw it happen in real time, I thought it was a groin injury, and so this is actually good news for me.

I think Essien will come back to his old form, he just needs a full 2 months of off-season to just rest.

I hope so too. He brings great leadership and a great engine to the midfield. Ramires has come on strong but Essien is the perfect person for him to learn from in the future.

He'll be fine after a summer break in my opinion.

Is it me or did The Bison regress over the last couple of seasons?

I was glad Essien took a break from the internationals to regain his form but he's not the player he used to be. He lost his drive and mobility that used to be his best features and last few games, imo was the weak link in our midfield. Between him and Lampard being a step behind their former selves our midfield suffers. Good thing Ramires turned out to be a spark because currently we're clearly lacking quality in the middle of the pitch.

Essien has been poor this season, but he has been better in the last few games. It would be a big gamble to pick him ahead of Mikel or Ramires this weekend, but I think Carlo will probably go with Essien.

Is it me or did The Bison regress over the last couple of seasons?

I was glad Essien took a break from the internationals to regain his form but he's not the player he used to be. He lost his drive and mobility that used to be his best features and last few games, imo was the weak link in our midfield. Between him and Lampard being a step behind their former selves our midfield suffers. Good thing Ramires turned out to be a spark because currently we're clearly lacking quality in the middle of the pitch.

I dont agree entirley with that, our defence has always relied on Frank to be the threat, with the rest of the midfield being built on strength rather than speed, the ability to win balls and make the simple pass whilst keeping possesion are what makes our midfield so hard to beat, and gives our defence the record it has.

Essien has a lot of confidence and like Drogba can almost boss his opponents, you can sometimes see the opponents heads go down when they realise how strong and determined he really is. He's never been a prolific attacking midfielder, and the lack of the odd spectacular goal has probably got a bit to do with why he's been slated this season.

If our strikers had of scored more of the chances theyve had over the season, we would'nt be talking about the midfield.

Good thing someone bumped this thread.

Essien was an utter monster at the beginning of the last two seasons, and it is definitely no coincidence that our declines occur whenever he loses form. Some posters on this site and others have even claimed Essien is "past it" in the sense that he has magically lost his skill and ability because of injury. It isn't an exaggeration to say that such comments defy principles of science. Without intending to be arrogant, such people really don't understand the nature of injury and its effect on performance and are just applying a blanket judgment based on assumptions and stereotypes. Common ones include that all knee tendon injuries are not recoverable and result in loss of ability, when really there is little evidence (in the grand scheme of things) to suggest this is the case.

What Essien needs is a specialised recovery program. He is showing the signs of someone who is not properly recovering from injuries and a lot of this has to do with his rushing back to play for Chelsea and Ghana. Looking at his behaviour since returning this season it is very easy to note he is taking too many touches on the ball which is a tell-tale sign of a lack of confidence. He can only regain this if given ample time to recover and at the moment, chasing a title, we probably can't afford this. Professional footballers are always playing at 90% of their ability, and when in-form play at 95% of their ability. Truly world-class players, such as Essien, are capable of another 2-3% more. Considering his lack of football in recent seasons and the nature of his injury, and given that his performances haven't been completely out of depth, we can safely conclude that it's that extra percent that's missing from Essien's game at the moment.

I have no doubt he'd be back to his best with a full, uninterrupted break and pre-season.

I think a summer break and a proper pre-season we'll see Essien back to his best next season

I also hope to see him back to his best, maybe he can drag bosingwa with him but that's another thread

I think Bosingwa could get back to his best with regular playing time and an injury free run, but we need a consistent starter at RB and while i'd be happy for him to stay on at RB i'd rather rotate between a new RB, Ivanovic and Ferreira.

Hoping we see out the season with a midfield of Lampard, Mikel & Ramires. Essien and Yossi to come on if we need to change things.

Essien has certainly lost some of what made him so special (many people believed him to be the best midfielder in the league, certainly not the case this season) but as others have mentioned, I think he'll get it back after a rest over the summer.

I still think if Essien had of scored the odd spectacular goal here and there we wouldnt be talking about him, apart from not scoring I think he's been playing ok, he's an immense player to have in any midfield, I bet his opponents hate playing him.