Essien Gets Three Match Ban

Chelsea and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien received a straight red-card in Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Derby County at Pride Park on Saturday, meaning he will miss the next three Premier league matches for The Blues.

Essien, who had only been on the pitch for 18 minutes after coming on for Steve Sidwell in the 75th minute, was shown a straight red-card by referee Marriner after elbowing Derby County’s Kenny Miller in the face in the 93rd minute of the match, a match which Chelsea won 2-0 with goals from Salomon Kalou and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Not only will Chelsea be missing Essien for the three matches, but the 24-year-old midfielder is due to join the Ghana national squad for the African Cup of Nations in January, meaning he is likely to miss about 2 months of matches for Chelsea.