South Africa 2010: Tournament bedevilled with injuries

The injury woes started months back, when unarguably the richest and most admired active footballer, David Beckham, sustained an injury that completely ruled him out of the first World Cup ever to be hosted on African soil. When the Beckham’s injury was announced, little did football followers know that more football stars that would have […]

The injury woes started months back, when unarguably the richest and most admired active footballer, David Beckham, sustained an injury that completely ruled him out of the first World Cup ever to be hosted on African soil.

When the Beckham’s injury was announced, little did football followers know that more football stars that would have made the game ticker would not be there to grace the epic occasion. Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon while featuring for Milan in his bid to be in good shape for the Mundial.

 Doctor Sakari Orava performed surgery on Beckham’s tendon in Turku, Finland, on 15 March 2010. After the operation, Orava affirmed that “everything went well so far”, but the fact was that Beck would not play for the Three Lions in South Africa, a tournament that would have been his last.

In the wake of Beckham’s injury, the German football was also thrown in disarray when the news that their captain, Michael Ballack, would not lead the German ‘Army’ to vie for the most coveted trophy in South Africa. He sustained an injury in the FA Cup final between his English Club, Chelsea and Portsmouth.

It was announced on May 17, 2010 that Ballack would not be playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup following a dangerous tackle by Kevin Prince-Boateng – who plays for the Ghana national team.

Germany’s Joachim Low had his plans severely disrupted while the season was still in progress when holding midfielder and Captain Michael Ballack was ruled out after he was injured in the FA Cup final.

As if the Beckham’s injury was not enough, the Three Lions were dealt another devastating blow, when their Captain, Rio Ferdinand, sustained an injury in a warn-up match. After undergoing scan, it was painfully revealed that Rio would have to wait for another four years if he still wants to play at the World Cup.

Ferdinand, 31, was provisionally ruled out of the tournament after picking up knee ligament damage in the team’s first training session since arriving in South Africa. As skipper, he was expected to lead the push to bring the trophy back to England for the first time since 1966.

“He’d been quoted saying there are no excuses for this World Cup and making amends for previous debacles and it’s a hammer blow. All Capello’s plans are now going to be up in smoke really,” England Legend, Terry Butcher, was quoted as saying.

One of the biggest blows to the tournament as a whole came from the Ivory Coast camp, when the news trickled in that their captain Didier Drogba dislocated his elbow in a friendly match against Japan.

The bizarre spate of injuries during the preparation just one week before the tournament kicked off, left teams frantically revising their options. Two of those injured players, Rio Ferdinand and Didier Drogba, captain their country, while another, Andrea Pirlo, is seen as the creative force in the side.

Just last week, Honduras midfielder, Wilson Palacios, was stretchered off with a muscle injury while Arjen Robben, so crucial for Bayern Munich this season, now carries a hamstring injury.

Ferdinand has already been ruled out, but if any of these other world stars were to join him, the tournament would be worse for their absence. Their teams would as well suffer, but the question is, how much?

 The English press seem to have shrugged off the loss of Ferdinand by pointing to his poor season at Manchester United, his loss of concentration in friendly matches against Mexico and Japan, and the fact that they are grateful it is not Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard or even John Terry.

However, Ferdinand has the World Cup experience that his replacement lacks and gives England¹s backline the accomplished passer which Terry clearly is not.

 Ledley King would be the most similar replacement to Ferdinand, down even to the injuries that kept him out of England contention for the qualifying campaign. As The Guardian’s Barney Ronay pointed out last week, “Both Terry and King play with pain most of the time and it is bound to show at some point.”

Drogba, a two-time African Player of the Year, is likely going to play in South Africa. But, would he be at his best to deliver the goals, which stood him out last season for Chelsea FC?

His operation was deemed a success and he will play a part, but whether that is in time for the opener against Portugal remains to be seen. Any player’s absence is only a big blow if his replacement is of a different level to him.

Drogba scored six goals in the qualifying campaign and had even scored from a free-kick against Japan before his injury. As it were now, Aruna Dindane or the inexperienced Seydou Doumbia is his likely replacements.

But, Drogba might even play the opener against Portugal, even if he is only half-fit (Franz Beckenbauer palyed the 1970 semi-final against Italy with a dislocated shoulder and his arm strapped to his body).

And with Michael Essien already out as a result of an injury he sustained in the last African Nations Cup, Angola 2010. Since he sustained the injury, Essien tried all he could, but he was told days to the tournament that his injury would not allow him to be part of the South African football showpiece.

Currently Robben is recovering in time but, though he is in the form of his life, his importance for Holland is nothing like it is for Bayern. While the German champions would pick Hamit Altintop as his replacement, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk could go for Eljero Elia, who could be a break-out star of the tournament, or Rafael van der Vaart, who had an excellent season at Real Madrid.

Pirlo and Palacios are both very important to their sides, for their experience as much as anything else, but latest reports suggest both will recover in time to play. Meanwhile, the coaches can only pray that the next four days pass off injury-free.

Portugal and Manchester United winger Nani was also ruled out of the World Cup with a left shoulder injury, which he sustained in Lisbon before flying to South Africa. After tests were carried out, it was concluded that he would be unfit to participate in the World Cup.

Other players that are current suffering from one form of injury or the other is Maicon, Brazilian goalkeeper, who sustained a shoulder injury in a friendly match against Zimbabwe. While some of them will play, others like the three Michaels (Ballack, Essien and Obi) will have to come with terms with the fact that their World Cup ambitions have gone up in smoke.

It is the hope of Countries, coaches and fans to see the best legs available taking part in major tournaments like the World Cup, but they will have to remove their minds from the injured players for now and watch out for the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Higguain, Teves, Eto, Maicon, Rooney, Sneijder, Iniesta, Toress, Lampard, Obafemi, Ogbuke, Lucio, Kaka, Robinho and many other super stars that are capable of setting the tournament on fire.