Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is working hard in rehab to be fit for Ghana's World Cup campaign.

Essien says the "plan" is to be available for South Africa next month.

He told chelseafc.com: "At the moment I am carrying on with my rehabilitation programme. Chelsea have allowed me to carry on till the end of May at Cobham and my fitness will be assessed by the experts as the days go by. I feel a lot better than I did a few weeks ago so I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will be well.

"The plan right now is to have a detailed meeting with the Ghana FA and with Chelsea as well in the next few days. We are organising that as we speak so everyone will be fully informed about the situation and the progress on a daily basis. We felt it was best to leave it till now so as not to disrupt Chelsea's League and Cup plans and also it is the best time for the Ghana FA as the team will be getting ready to meet up now."