Michael Essien To Announce Decision On Black Stars Return Next Week

Michael Essien has told an Accra-based radio station he will announce his decision to a return to international football after his charity match in Accra next week. The on-loan Real Madrid player has not played for the Black Stars since June 2011 when he featured a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo in Kumasi. The 30-year-old was making a return from a one-year exile. A serious knee injury he sustained during Chelsea�s pre-season campaign two seasons kept him on the sidelines for six months. He returned to action in November 2011 but was not selected for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Essien moved to Real Madrid before the start of the season but asked to be excused from international �Let me come down and finish my charity game,� Essien told Citi FM. �I will announce the rest about whether I am coming or not after the game. We�ll talk about that after.� Essien, an African Union ambassador, and his friends will play an exhibition match at the Accra Sports Stadium on 8 June.