Essien has told close friends the injury happened in training on Friday morning and is said to be devastated.
“You can sense from his voice that he has been crying. He is so down,” a close associate told KickOffGhana.com.
Details of the news are sketchy but Essien says the injury is to his right knee and is waiting for scan results to show the extent of the damage.
A Chelsea FC statement said simply confirmed the news and say they will be performing further tests to determine the damage of the injury.
Essien’s career has been blighted recently by a serious knee injury.
The midfielder missed a chunk of the last two seasons and the 2010 World Cup with a similar injury.
He also sat out for six months previously after he injured his knee while on international duty for Ghana in a World Cup qualifier for Ghana in Libya in September 2008.
