Ghana midfielder Michael Essien has returned to training with Italian side AC Milan after recovering from injury, boosting his chances of making the Black Stars squad for the World Cup in June.

The 31-year-old suffered a calf injury two weeks ago and it was feared he could stay out of action for long which could affect his chances of playing in Brazil in June.

But he was part of the full AC Milan team that trained on Monday afternoon as they prepared for Friday night’s tough match against Roma.

This shows that he has fully recovered from the injury that kept him out of action for two weeks.

His return bodes well for Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah who has recently had injury problems with players like Isaac Vorsah, Sulley Muntari, John Boye and Mubarak Wakaso.

The latter three have all recovered from their injuries while the status of Vorsah is not certain.

Appiah will name his provisional squad for the World Cup on 12 May before the Black Stars go no to face USA, Germany and Portugal in Brazil.