Michael Essien recover from his knee injury until the end of July, more than two weeks after the tournament was to end. Since then, Essien has announced that he will be standing down from the Ghana national side for the near future in order to focus on his career with Chelsea, having suffered two significant injuries while playing for Ghana in recent years. Having recovered from those injuries, Essien subsequently promised his availability to his nation "very soon". Essien returned to Ghana's squad in August 2013 for the team's final 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He appeared as a second-half substitute in a
Nduese Essien Nduese Essien Nduese Essien (born 2 February 1944) was a Nigerian National Assembly representative from Akwa Ibom state from 1999 to 2007, and was appointed Federal Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet. Essien was born on 2 February 1944 in Nta Isip-Ikot Ibiok, Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he obtained a B.Sc in Business Administration in 1972. Essien's first job was with "The Chronicle" newspaper in the commercial department. In 1974 he became a lecturer at