Star refuses to rush return

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is refusing to put a date on his return but says he will not come back until he is fully fit.

Essien is recovering from a serious knee injury picked up on international duty, but there are conflicting reports doing the rounds as to when he will be back in action.

March looks the likeliest date but there have been suggestions he could be back as early as January. Essien is not reading too much into it though and is just concentrating on his rehabilitation.

"I think with these injuries you can't really give it a time, it can be shorter or longer, the time is not that important," Essien told Chelsea TV. "The most important is for me to get back stronger. If I come back early fine, but if it takes a bit of time, fine.

"At the moment everything is going well. I am recovering very well and it won't be long before I can go outside and start running a bit. I am in good hands with Thierry [Laurents] and the other physios. They have been great and are doing a really good job.

"We have a big squad and everybody is capable of doing something for the team, so it's no surprise for me because we have the players, everybody is world class.

"Hopefully I will come back and join the party at the end."