The mystery surrounding the exclusion of Ghana star Michael Essien from Chelsea starting line-up in recent matches continued this weekend as he was benched in the club’s 4-1 over Cardiff despite his heroics for the Black Stars in last week’s World Cup qualifier.
The Chelsea star was a standout performer during Ghana’s 6-1 thrashing of Egypt on Tuesday and was instrumental in the own goal scored by Wael Gomaa.
It was thought his performance could force Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho to reconsider Essien position by handing huim a starting place but was left to sit on the bench.
Worries are growing for the midfielder’s future at English side Chelsea as he has largely been ignored even though he is excellent when playing for his country.
The 30-year-old has been overlooked by manager Jose Mourinho since the season started and has only been limited to playing Cup matches.
He watched the entire regulation minutes from the bench on Saturday as they thrashed Cardiff.
Despite being one of the favourite players for the Portuguese manager, Essien has not found favour with his Daddy since the league started.
This comes even though Mourinho requested for Essien to be brought back from Real Madrid after a loan spell.
Essien was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s opening day victory over Hull City over the weekend.
This could spark rumours of Essien imminent exit from the club.