Ghana star midfielder Michael Essien was among five Real Madrid regulars who trained with the Real Madrid second team on Thursday due to the international break.Â
The 29-year-old who is on loan from European champions Chelsea, together with his former Chelsea team-mate Ricardo Carvalho, Jose Callejón, goalkeepers Adan and Jesus Collado joined Real Madrid second team training.
The Ghana deputy captain was not included James Kwesi Appiah's 21-man squad to face Malawi in the 2013 AFCON second-leg qualifier on Saturday.
Essien has not played for Ghana since playing part in the 3-1 victory over Congo in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers in 2011.