World Cup 2010: Is England’s Ferdinand Out of the World Cup?
With just a few days to go before the 19th World Cup kicks off in South Africa, fans hopes are high and expectations are even higher. Preparations are underway in South Africa as everyone gets ready to witness the most intense battle the world has seen in a very long time. Sadly though, something always ends up going wrong – usually with a major piece of injury news. However, England fans got two pieces of bad news on the same day, more than they had bargained for, this close to the Cup.
England captain Rio Ferdinand, one of the team’s most important players, has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury in the team’s first training session in their Rustenburg base in South Africa. Striker Emile Heskey was responsible for the “accidental injury” though some England fans will suggest that’s the closest the goal-shy striker has come to finding his target in recent months. This is a sad piece of information to arrive at the door steps of English fans and players.
It’s a cruel blow for the stylish 31-year-old, who had been included in his fourth World Cup squad. The Football Association statement confirmed the bad news when they explained that after a scan arranged by the England medical staff immediately after training on Friday afternoon, Rio has been ruled out for four to six weeks and will therefore unfortunately miss the World Cup. His replacement is Tottenham Hotspur’s Michael Dawson and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, who is coming off a poor season and gets to undeservingly step up as captain. The whole scenario has created much turmoil in the team as players look a huge level of support on the field from their captain.
Ferdinand’s injury carries on the bizarre curse that has struck down many an England captain going into the tournament in the past, such as Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson and David Beckham (who himself was injured earlier this year, ruling out his participation in South Africa though he is an unofficial part of the training staff). But the U.S. will be secretly delighted as the likes of Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan won’t have to face up against the formidable Ferdinand in their opening group game on June 12. You’d imagine that coach Fabio Capello will be wrapping up England’s star striker — and Ferdinand’s Manchester United team mate — Wayne Rooney in cotton balls to avoid any further mishaps. This situation has changed the perceptions professional’s have towards the outcomes of the World Cup. What will happen now? The power of the English team has really severed a nasty blow with the removal of their captain.
But the bad news does not stop here. The captaincy curse continues and gets worse as the Ivory Coast leader, and TIME 100 cover star, Didier Drogba’s participation is in grave danger after he suffered a suspected fractured elbow. The 32-year-old Chelsea striker picked up the injury in his side’s 2-0 friendly win over Japan, though there was clearly nothing friendly about the challenge by defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka. Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson (who, out of interest, used to manage England) said there was still a chance the talismanic front man could feature at some point. Swede has expressly stated that the teams are not sure yet, but they think it’s still a possibility. He is fully aware that by the time Drogba is fit, Les Elephantes could have already been eliminated as they’re in a tough group against the likes of Brazil and Portugal.
So close to the South African World Cup, such incidents are not appreciated by fans and players alike. The entire sequence and organization of things is disrupted as players have to adjust to drastic changes at the last minute. Let’s hope bad news such as this does not present itself anymore, at least not till after the cup has actually commenced.
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