The eye injury seems likely to rule Sissoko out for the rest of the season, but the player himself is determined to return in May, hopefully in time for a big final.
"This has all come at such a bad time for me. I feel I have been playing some of my best football and really settling into the English way. But I've promised myself I will play again before the end of May. Maybe the FA Cup or Champions League Final will be the game when I return.
"It was the scariest moment of my life. The doctor in Lisbon told me there was a serious risk I would lose the vision in my right eye. Suddenly I had all these thoughts swimming around my mind and I asked myself: 'Is this the end of my career?'
"My morale was at rockbottom. I had severe headaches and the pain was unbearable. I couldn't deal with being in a situation where you didn't have any answers. I didn't know if everything in my life was about to crumble.
"As soon as we got back, the club organised a visit to a specialist. He told me the injury wasn't as bad as I had dreaded and that was like a massive weight being lifted from me.
"I saw the surgeon again this week and he's optimistic I will recover normal eyesight but he also says it may never get back up to 100 per cent. Of course, that is not so good but the outlook is better than I first thought.
"It's going to be frustrating for me with the Benfica game coming up but there isn't a lot I can do and there are no plans for an operation. I have to take at least two months off because, although I can open the eye, I am suffering from blurred vision. That will get a little better as each day passes.
"Our manager Rafa Benitez has suggested I go away and have a bit of a holiday because I think he knows how hard it will be for me to hang around the club and not be able to contribute."