Ghana Black Stars Inspirational captain Stephen Appiah has revealed to stepapp.com how his joy at coming back to play for Ghana was short lived by the injury to his best pal Michael Essien
What is even worse is the fact that Michael will be out for several months having ruptured his knee ligaments. The news was confirmed by Chelsea football club on Tuesday afternoon
But, Stephen who has already spoken to Michael has encouraging words for him and he believes he is the best person to talk to him about setbacks having been out for a long time himself
'I enjoyed pulling on the jersey and coming on to play for my beloved Ghana on Friday but Michael's injury has upset us all'
'The pain he was in and the tears he was shedding was upsetting. I know exactly what he was going through and I have reassured him that we are all there for him'
'His close friends, family and the nation as a whole have to stand beside him and encourage him to stay strong and I am first in the queue to provide all the support he needs'
'I have spoken to him at length and i think he understands the fact that there are ups and downs in every aspect of life and you can come through the difficult times if you stay strong'
'i will urge all his fans and all Ghanaians to support Michael as you did for me when I was down and out. All your messages and encouraging words kept me going and hopefully you can do the same to keep Michael going'
Stephen didn't want to discuss his comeback because he felt Michael's injury should take precedence over everything else but the StepApp team pushed him to discuss it and he had a few words to say
'On the game itself, I feel we could have done a lot more to at least earn a draw. Personally i felt good but towards the end, the lack of match fitness started to show a little bit'
'I didnt expect to play 77 minutes. I was hoping to play in the last 25 minutes or so but I was forced on by the injury as you know'
'My confidence is back and with a few more games, I will be on song. The Lesotho game is a must win and the coaching staff and all the players will be making sure we do all we can to win and stake a claim for the next round.'
The StepApp team will like to wish Michael a speedy recovery. Stephen has agreed that any messages fans want to send to Michael, can be sent through the guest book page on this website
Michael had his knee operated on in a week after this article was written. It was successful and we hope he recovers fully and as soon as possible
