Black Stars midfielder, Michael Essien has been ruled out of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

"An evaluation by a combined team of medical experts from the Ghana Football Association and Chelsea Football Club revealed that Essien will not make full recovery until the end of July.

"The Ghana Football Association wishes him full recovery and a quick return to football action," the FA statement read.

Essien has been recovering from a knee injury picked up at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola back in January.

The midfielder was in line of making his second consecutive appearance at the World Cup following his debut four years ago in Germany.

Ghana opens its World Cup campaign in group D against Serbia on June 13.