SOCCER:WITH THE 2010 World Cup starting in less than a week England and the Ivory Coast were rocked yesterday after news that Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the tournament and Didier Drogba may also miss out through injury.
England captain Ferdinand fell badly and suffered a knee ligament injury while making a tackle in the final minutes of their first training session in South Africa.
Tottenham defender Michael Dawson was quickly called up by England manager Fabio Cappello, while Steven Gerrard has been named captain.
Drogba, the Ivory Coast captain, underwent an emergency operation last night in an attempt to save his chances of participating in the World Cup.
The striker was initially reported to have been ruled out of the tournament after dislocating his elbow in a friendly against Japan yesterday but, according to the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, he had surgery and could be fit for his country's opening match against Portugal in 10 days' time.
A wave of dismay swept across Ivorian football when the forward was helped off the pitch in distress in the 19th minute of yesterday’s match following a clash with the opposing defender Tulio, off whom a Drogba free-kick had earlier deflected to give Ivory Coast the lead. Drogba was taken to hospital in Sion, Switzerland, where the Ivorians have been undergoing altitude training.
“Of course I am worried, he’s our captain and one of the best players in the world,” said Ivory Coast manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
L'Equipesaid Drogba himself informed journalists that the injury would prevent him from playing in the World Cup but later retracted that and said an operation could salvage his hopes. That was backed up by spokesman of the Ivorian Football Federation, who said categorically: "He's not at all out of the World Cup. He can still play."
If Drogba does recover in time it would spare him a devastating blow – the player has often spoken of his hope to crown what he reckons has been the finest season of his career by leading his country to glory at the first World Cup to be staged in Africa. The loss of a player who has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances for his country – and hit 37 in all competitions for Chelsea this season – would severely damage the Elephants’ chances of making an impact in South Africa. Ivory Coast are in perhaps the toughest of all groups, with Brazil and Portugal representing formidable obstacles between them and the next round.
Tulio, who was born in Brazil, spoke of his regret about the incident and said there had been no intent to cause harm.
“It was a very physical game for both sides, and unfortunately that injury happened,” he said. “Drogba and I ran into each other while chasing a loose ball and, in fact, I got there first. He bounced off me and I could see it was something bad happened when he started screaming in pain. But everybody at the stadium saw I did not mean to hurt him. These things happen in football and I just hope Drogba recovers in time for the World Cup.
“I am not this kind of player and would never have gone over the top, especially in a friendly match so close to the World Cup. They were also getting physical on us, but nothing nasty. It’s just a shame this happened.”
When told that Drogba may not play in South Africa, Tulio exclaimed: “Oh, god. This is unfortunate. I feel really sorry for him and his team.”
Eriksson said that the match had been a robust encounter but exonerated the Japanese of any wrongdoing. “It’s a physical game and the Japan player did not want to hurt Didier,” said Eriksson. “It was a competitive match and it got physical at some points, but there was nothing bad.”
In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Drogba carries enormous influence within the dressingroom. He has sometimes been accused of trying to exert too much control, though that complaint has not surfaced since the appointment of Eriksson.
If he does miss the tournament, his country will be captained by the Manchester City defender Kolo Toure, who recognised that the loss of Drogba would be “a huge blow”
