By Rahman Osman
à Follow on twitter @iamrahmanosman
Ghana midfielder Michael Essien failed to make his long awaited debut for Greek giants Panathinaikos as he was left out of the team that beat Panaitolikos.
The 32-year-old joined the Greek Super League side earlier in the summer but has since been unable to make his debut due to a recurrent knee injury.
Essien returned to full scale training earlier in the week and was expected to get a run out in his sides Super League opener against Panaitolikos.
Goals from Karelis and Marcus Berg gave Panathinaikos a 2-0 lead in the first half but Leandro Kappel gave Panaitolikos a consolation late on.
Essiens failure to make the team will further raise questions of his level of recovery from his last knee injury.