Michael Essien has confirmed that he intends to return to the Ghana national side.

Essien suffered an injury during the African Nations Cup in January and, after failing to feature again for Chelsea in the second half of the season, was forced out of the World Cup.

He made his return for the Blues in a pre-season friendly in July and now appears to have recovered full fitness, but he did not take part in Ghana's opening African Nations Cup qualifier in Swaziland last month.

Essien has now revealed that his absence came as a result of an agreement with former Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac, but he has every intention of returning to play for the side.

"I spoke to the manager and he told me was going to give me a break to get my fitness back on track," Essien said. "It is unfortunate that he left, and we shall see who comes in, but I will go back."

Essien also said he feels he is improving as a player but hopes to add more goals.

"I think my passing is getting better, what I need to work on is my goal-scoring," he said. "When you have the ball you have to be calm and you have to look for the space before you receive the ball. I try to do that and I am getting my passes right."