5 players that have missed a World Cup due to injury

Essien has had some frustrating injuries in his career

4. Michael Essien

The Chelsea midfielder has a history with injuries and unfortunately one of them made him miss the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Ghanaian ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for his country towards the end of 2008 which kept him out of action for nearly six months. The one time most expensive African footballer returned to action for Chelsea but was told by doctors that he would not make a full recovery from his injury until after the World Cup.

The injury scared Essien enough to make him quit the national team in order to focus on his club career. However, the 31-year-old has not ruled out a return to international football and said that he would return to play for his country sometime in the future.