Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has served notice he will recall Ghana midfielder Michael Essien to replace injured Marco van Ginkel in his Champions League squad.

The Blues will announce their squad in January when clubs are officially allowed to reshuffle their squad slightly.

"I will change Marco van Ginkel with Essien in the Champions League squad list. We are going to try to find balances. Our squad is our squad. Instead of thinking about the market, we will think about trying to work and trying to improve the team,” the Portuguese said at a press conference.

The 20-year-old Dutch international has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Mourinho’s announcement is welcoming news for the ‘Bison’ who was left out in the initial squad and has seen little English Premier League football since returning from loan at Real Madrid.