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I wrote in my World Cup Group D preview that Ghana would finish second behind Germany in the group stage. However, that was before today. And today, the Ghana Football Association have released a statement on their website saying Michael Essien will not be able to play for Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
“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 Chelsea midfielder was injured during the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola back in January. He was expected to miss four to six weeks. It has been four months. No team in the World Cup is as dependent on one player as Ghana is on Essien.
Ghana were able to get to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations without Essien for most of the tournament, but that tournament does not compare to the competition at the World Cup.
Essien was paramount to Ghana’s success at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He helped lead the Black Stars out of the group stage and into the knockout round. In their group, they were able to upset the Czech Republic and USA before bowing out to Brazil in the round of sixteen.
This is a massive loss for Ghana and they will desperately need one of their young players to step up. Samuel Inkoom had a tremendous season for FC Basel and could fit in beside Sulley Muntari. But, no one wearing a Ghanaian shirt can duplicate what Essien means to this team and country.
With Essien out, this opens the door for Serbia and Australia to finish second behind Germany.
My advice – Stay away from picking Ghana to advance from Group D.
Check out all the World Cup odds here.
