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Michael Essien, the Chelsea midfielder, ruptured his right hamstring against Apoel Nicosia and so now is believed to take a rest for up to four weeks. In the first half of 2-2 Champions League draw last Tuesday, at the Stamford Bridge, he limped off after having a 25-yard equalizer.

The following day after he got the injury, he was brought to a specialist and had a scan. It revealed then that the injury was actually worser than expected.

At this point, his participation at the upcoming African Cup of Nations is questionable. The event will already be on the 10th of January and will run until the 31st of same month.

The 27-year-old player actually missed most of the games last season after tearing his knee ligaments. However, for this term, he has been a key member of Ancelotti’s team.

But of course, after Tuesday’s game, Chelsea manager felt bit heavyhearted. He admitted that what his team displayed in the second half had not been good enough. They could have played far better.

Ancelotti said, “we were playing well and scored two goals. We played with intensity but then lost our concentration. For this I am not happy”, and that “we have to play for 90 minutes with intensity and concentration. It’s a psychological thing. This was not how we want it. I spoke with my players about it afterwards. We had the possibility to close the game out but didn’t play well”.

However, the Chelsea manager felt different with what Gael Kakuta showed who was then making his first start for the team. He called the 18-year-old player, “the future of Chelsea”. He believed he just showed what was everyone was expecting that he would.

“Kakuta is the only one who could think he played well. He showed his talent and made a fantastic pass for the second goal”, Ancelotti said.