Features

World Cup injury dramas

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 07/03/2010
Football betting

World Cup injury fears over Ashley Cole's ankle and Rio Ferdinand's back come as no surprise to long-suffering England fans.

It seems that the build-up to every major tournament is overshadowed by fitness doubts concerning key players.

Chelsea full-back Cole is facing a race against time to return to action before the end of the Premier League season.

In order to prove his fitness to England head coach Fabio Capello, he must resume domestic action and persuade the Italian that he is ready to take a place in the final 23-man squad.

Cole is expected to be sidelined for around 10 weeks which makes it touch and go as to whether he will make the plane to South Africa.

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Meanwhile, fresh doubts have emerged about the fitness of Ferdinand after he missed the midweek friendly against Egypt.

The recently installed Three Lions captain suffered a recurrence of a long-running injury while training with Manchester United and the fragile state of his back must be a major concern to Capello.

But as troublesome as these two issues are for Capello and his sportsbook third favourites for World Cup 2010, his predecessors have had other more weighty injury dilemmas on their hands in the build up to major tournaments.

Perhaps the most high-profile of all England pre-World Cup injury fears was David Beckham in 2002.

Prior to being injured in a Champions League game between Manchester United and Deportivo La Coruna in April, very few football fans knew what a metatarsal was.

But after the England captain broken a bone in his foot, the phrase became common football parlance.

Beckham returned in time to feature in the tournament but was far from his inspirational best as England bowed out in the first knockout round.

Much like buses, England's second major metatarsal fear overshadowed the build-up to the next World Cup four years later.

Wayne Rooney was touch and go to leading up to the 2006 finals after breaking a bone in his foot during a Premier League game against Chelsea in April of that year.

Like Beckham, he returned in time to make Sven Goran-Eriksson's squad but was pale shadow of his bullish best in Germany.

Looking further back and Gary Lineker almost didn't make the 1986 World Cup for which he would later emerge as the Golden Boot winner.

The Everton striker fractured his wrist in a pre-tournament warm-up and required special dispensation to play in a protective cast.

He returned with great effect and his tournament best six goals will certainly hearten the likes of Cole and Ferdinand.

However, Capello will be keeping his fingers crossed that the rest of the Premier League title run-in proceeds without any further injury scares for potential members of his squad.

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