Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has weighed the loss of midfielder Michael Essien for this weekend's last 2010 joint qualifier against Lesotho at home. Essien has been ruled out of action for at least six months when he suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage on his knee early last month. The Chelsea midfielder landed awkwardly in Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Libya and he was replaced by Appiah, who was making his comeback in ten months. Appiah believes Essien will be sorely missed in the Stars match on Saturday. "I think he's one of the guys who guarantee a lot to this team, yes I think he is a big blow to us," Appiah told Ghanasoccernet.com "But if he is not there somebody will be there to take his position." he added. Appiah will be playing his second competitive game since recovering last month from a long injury lay-off. "Stephen Appiah never rests, I'm always working; I think for the past years now I have suffered a lot; but I didn't give up, I continued training and you can see that I'm fit and in shape." Source: Ghanasoccernet