Soccer:One day after his arrival in South Africa, England skipper Rio Ferdinand must prepare to fly home after he was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury. Ferdinand suffered the injury in training this morning after colliding with striker Emile Heskey.
Both doctors travelling with the England team assessed the severity of the problem and came to the same conclusion; the Manchester United man would play no part in the competition.
“Further to a scan arranged by the England medical staff immediately after training on Friday afternoon, Rio has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks and will therefore unfortunately miss the World Cup,” said a statement from the English FA.
“Tottenham Hotspur’s Michael Dawson has been contacted today and will fly to South Africa. Steven Gerrard will lead the England team as captain in the tournament.”
It is a grievous blow for coach Fabio Capello, who rated Ferdinand as one of the most influential players in his squad as well as a lynchpin in his defence. He must now decide who to replace Ferdinand with, having added Dawson to a list of central defenders that also includes Ledley King, Matthew Upson and Jamie Carragher.
“It is obviously bad news and everyone with the squad is very disappointed and sorry for Rio,” said Capello. “It was an accidental injury in training, but had nothing to do with the pitch.”
Ferdinand was always a gamble. Understandably, he did not want to own up to it. Neither did his Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. Nor did Capello.
But the moment he damaged his left knee in training barely a week before England’s opening World Cup game against the USA it was obvious. The gamble had backfired.
Ferdinand’s body, so prone to injury over the past 12 months when he has suffered from a debilitating back complaint, had let him down again.
That’s the trouble with back problems. They affect the very core of a player’s being. They tend to weaken other parts. They make you compensate. They infuse the mind and body with uncertainty.
It would be easy to blame Capello for relying on a player who played just 13 Premier League games for United last season. Easy to suggest it was foolish to make such a player captain following the revelations into the private life of ex-skipper Terry.
Yet it would serve no purpose. The fact is that Capello was desperate to have a fully-fit Ferdinand in South Africa because he is one of England’s few world-class footballers.
Wayne Rooney, Gerrard and Ashley Cole also fall into that category, but there is an argument to say Ferdinand was just as important. His position in central defence and his partnership with Terry, who has struggled for his best form recently, was key to England’s success.
His experience and maturity, following years when his sense of responsibility was questioned on a regular basis, was also one of England’s biggest assets.
The blow is made even graver, of course, by the fact that his obvious replacement, Tottenham’s Ledley King, suffers from a chronic knee problem which does not allow him to train rigorously between matches. Taking one crock was understandable. Taking two is beginning to look somewhat naive.
England, of course, do have Matthew Upson, who has been a favoured member of the squad under Capello, although he had the most unconvincing of seasons with West Ham.
And they do have Tottenham’s Dawson, called up as standby when Ferdinand was injured and who is a stout defender but without the finesse required at the highest level.
It all leaves England’s plans in some awry and is bound to affect the morale of the squad so soon to the start of the action.