Michael Essien recalled by Ghana for World Cup Qualifier

Michael Essien hasn't played for Ghana in a while, but the Chelsea midfielder has been called into the Black Stars' squad that will face Zambia in a World Cup qualifier in less than a month. The full Ghana squad for that match is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Fatau Dauda, Adam Kwarasey, Razak Braimah

Defenders: Samuel Inkoom , Daniel Opare, Harrison Afful, Kissi Boateng, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Rashid Sumaila, Mohammed Awal

Midfielders: Rabiu Mohammed, Yussif Raman Chibsah, Michael Essien, Kwadwo Asamoah, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Albert Adomah, Solomon Asante, Mubarak Wakaso, Christian Atsu, Frank Acheampong

Strikers: Asamoah Gyan, Andre Ayew, Kevin Prince Boateng, Abdul Majeed Waris, Mahatma Otoo

Normally I hate any senior international football played during the club season, but in this particular case, I actually think it would benefit Chelsea for Essien to get some minutes. He hasn't seen much time on the pitch yet this season, despite having been a regular for Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid last year.

More importantly though, I really hope that Essien makes it through this particular trip unscathed. Playing with Ghana has resulted in a number of serious injuries for the player, and while that's probably down to bad luck more than anything curse-related, it would still be pretty nice to see him return in the same sort of shape (or better) that he left in.