Injured Essien faces long lay-off

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been ruled out for "several months" after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament, the club has announced.

The 25-year-old suffered the injury during Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Libya in Tripoli on Friday.

Essien will undergo surgery once the swelling around his knee has subsided.

England striker Michael Owen picked up the same injury during the 2006 World Cup and was ruled out of competitive action for 10 months.

Essien has been a regular for Chelsea since his £24m move from Lyon in 2005, scoring 14 goals in 132 appearances.

A Chelsea statement read: "Michael has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week's time.

"In the meantime, Michael has started rehab in the aqua therapy centre at Cobham which will improve the condition of the knee prior to surgery. A return to full fitness is not expected for several months."

The loss of the combative Ghanaian for such a long period is a major blow to Chelsea, who have no like-for-like replacement available and will not be able to buy any fresh faces before the transfer window re-opens in January.

Essien had landed awkwardly during the qualifier against Libya and was immediately taken to hospital for scans, with the diagnosis now confirmed by Chelsea's own medical staff.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, who opened their Premier League campaign with two wins and a draw, are next in action away to Manchester City on Saturday before facing Bordeaux in the Champions League and champions Manchester United in the league on 21 September.

OBAMA ASSASINATION GAFFE BY HILLARY

Was Hillary Clinton hinting at a possible Barack Obama Assasination?

When Hillary was asked why she is still stuck in the race for the democratic nomination, this is what she had to say "...up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said, dismissing calls to drop out.

Obama's camp immediately fired back.

"Sen. Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign," Obama campaign spokesman said in a statement.

Clinton made her comments at a meeting with the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader's editorial board while campaigning in South Dakota, where she complained that, "People have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa."

Obama, the first African-American to advance so far in the race for the White House, has faced threats, sources have said.

Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, was gunned down in 1968 after winning the California primary. He had been a hero on the left for his civil rights agenda and calls to end the war in Vietnam.

Barack Obama, who leads Clinton by nearly 200 delegates and has already secured a majority of pledged delegates, has been the subject of threats. Early in the campaign, the Secret Service gave him a security detail at the request of Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois).

Clinton criticized an "urgency" to end the campaign prematurely, saying, "Historically, that makes no sense."

She later issued an apology for the remark.

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever," the former first lady said.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson defended the comments to The Post, "She was talking about the length of the race and using the '68 election as an example of how long the races in the past have gone -- she used her husband's race in the same vein."
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