Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink was delighted to see Michael Essien come through yesterday's reserves game.
He said: "We're going now into a decisive month. The other months are important as well, to make sure you're not too far away from your aims and targets, but I may have the luxury of having players to pick from.
"I have watched Essien in training and he's close, very close. We'll have more options with him available in terms of the team's shape and tactics. It will give us some variations for the remaining games. I hope we can stop Manchester United winning five trophies this season. I'd love to stop Sir Alex Ferguson in his aim."