Michael Essien suffered a "setback" in his rehab from a knee injury and is not expected back until mid-January at the earliest.

Chelsea midfielder unlikely to play in the African Cup of Nations

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas revealed midfielder Michael Essien is still at least a month away from returning to action. Essien has not featured this season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury and Villas-Boas said the Ghanaian suffered a "setback" in his rehabilitation at the start of December. He is not expected to be fit until the middle of January, a timescale that likely rules him out of the African Cup of Nations. "We're looking at mid-January, that's the best we can think about," said Villas-Boas. "There was a setback at the beginning of December if I'm not wrong which took him back 10 days and that's extended into January, so I don't think he will go to the African Cup of Nations."