Chelsea will not be rushing Michael Essien back into action from injury with the Ghana midfielder having suffered a setback in his rehabilitation process.
The Stamford Bridge side had hoped the Ghana international would have returned to action for their Uefa Champions League second leg tie against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.
But that doesn't look likely as Essien would spend some more time recovering after missing the six week recuperation deadline following a knee injury picked at the recent African Nations Cup back in January.
The midfielder himself admits the wait on the sidelines has been painful.
"I will be back as soon as I can. I hate being on the sidelines but at the same time I need to be patient and heal properly. Once the medical team give me the all clear you will see me doing my thing on the pitch," he said.
Chelsea's assistant manager Ray Wilkins said: “Michael Essien is doing well, there has been a slight complication which means it needs a couple of weeks longer but he's out [in France] with Ashley [Cole] now and they're both doing extremely well, so from that point of view we're delighted with their recovery.
“It's difficult to give a timescale but hopefully he'll be fit as soon as possible because when we lose players of that quality it is damning on any side.”
