Didier Drogba ruled out of World Cup with broken elbow
Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba has been ruled out of the World Cup after fracturing an elbow in a pre-tournament friendly.
In a massive blow for Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side, the Chelsea forward was forced off in the first half of today’s clash with Japan in Sion, Switzerland, after going down under a challenge from Japanese defender Tulio Tanaka, who had earlier deflected in a Drogba free-kick to put the Ivory Coast 1-0 up.
The Elephants went on to win 2-0 courtesy of a second goal from Manchester City’s Kolo Toure – who is now likely to take over the captain’s armband in Drogba’s absence – but the loss of the free-scoring forward will severely hamper Eriksson’s side.
Drogba has scored 44 goals in 69 games for his country, and is coming off the back of an excellent season at Chelsea in which he scored 37 goals in all competitions.
An African icon, his loss will be a huge blow to the first ever African World Cup, and at 32 he is unlikely to get the chance to feature in the next tournament in 2014.
This time around, the Ivory Coast face Portugal, Brazil and North Korea in Group G, beginning their campaign against the Portuguese in Port Elizabeth on June 15th.
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