Kwadwo Asamoah makes return

Kwadwo Asamoah has made his long awaited return from injury after four months out on the sidelines.

The Ghana midfielder was thrown into the deep end in his first competitive match and handed a start in Udinese's 0-1 loss to Palermo over the weekend before being taken off on the 90th minute mark.

The former Liberty Professionals player burst onto the Serie A scene last season in style but had to watch the opening games of the season from the stands after picking up a knee injury in pre-season.

His return will be a major boost for Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac ahead of the final world cup qualifying game against Mali in Kumasi on November 15.

Even though Ghana has already qualified for the world cup, two straight losses in recent games against Japan and Benin is beginning to worry Rajevac who is determined to end the bad run.

He would also have monitored the performance of Ghanaian players abroad over the weekend with a smile on his face.

Sulley Muntari was picked once again by Jose Mourinho and the Ghanaian rewarded the manager's faith with the opening goal in their 2-1 win over Catania. Even though he admitted it had been a freak goal, Muntari was still delighted and is hoping it will provide the spark for a season that has been unusually difficult for him.

Michael Essien hit a fine goal for Chelsea in their 5-0 demolition of Blackburn Rovers while in France, Asamoah Gyan struck a wonderful third goal for Stade Rennes in their 3-0 win over Montpellier to take his season's tally so far to five goals.