Michael Essien looks to have recovered from recent illness, as he returned to Real Madrid’s second training session of the day.

The Ghanaian has missed the previous few weeks with a mysterious ailment that was later explained by the club to have been caused by an allergic reaction to some medication.

The player even returned to parent club Chelsea in a bid to recover full fitness, but was not expected to return to first-team activity during his loan spell in Madrid until after the winter break.

However, after training apart in Thursday morning’s session, the midfielder joined the rest of his Madrid colleagues to take a full part in the afternoon workout, suggesting that he could be back sooner than anticipated.

At this time, though, it remains unclear exactly when he will be available for selection.