Essien has suffered a serious setback in his recovery from knee surgery and remains on crutches a month after the surgery.
A club source told The Sun: “The news on Michael’s not good. We all thought he’d be back playing again in four to six weeks.
“The second leg of the Champions League match with Inter Milan was talked about as the ideal comeback game.
“But he has no chance of making that now. We’re not even sure he’ll play again this season. If he does it won’t be any time soon.”
