Michael Essien has been ruled out of Panathinaikos’s Europa League play-off tie against Azerbaijani side FK Qabala.
The Ghana midfielder, who joined the Greek giants this summer on a free transfer, is not ready to return to the field after undergoing surgery last month.
Essien has started running but Panathinaikos do not want to risk him and will miss both games to be played this month.
The match will be on 19 August and with the Greek giants hosting the return leg the following week.
Panathinaikos hope the former Chelsea and AC Milan player will be ready for the Super League.
By: Rahman Osman/citifmonline.com/Ghana