When Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand went down with serious injuries, it became clear this World Cup would have its share of high-profile player losses. Little did we know how bad things would get.
Dutch star Arjen Robben was the latest player to join the list of the injured this past weekend, but he was hardly the only one. Honduran star Wilson Palacios was also hit with a serious injury, though it remains unclear just how bad his injured shin is after being taken to a hospital after Honduras' 3-0 loss to Romania.
Here is a rundown of top players are expected to either miss the World Cup entirely, or miss some part of the tournament due to recent injuries:
World Cup Wounded
Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast
Rio Ferdinand, England
Arjen Robben, Netherlands
Andrea Pirlo, Italy
Humberto Suazo, Chile
John Obi Mikel, Nigeria
Michael Essien, Ghana
Michael Ballack, Germany
Wilson Palacios, Honduras
What do you think of all these injuries? Which if these do you consider the most devastating to the player's team? Praying no Americans fall victim between now and Saturday's World Cup opener vs. England?
Share your thoughts below.
According to ESPN:
He’s back to full training without limitation or hesitation and doesn’t even has his ankle taped/wrapped.
i.e. Jozy will be ready to face England.
That was the most vulgar and trite world cup preview I’ve read.
Going for the cheap laugh, sure. But LD finally as good as he thinks he is? Harsh.
Anyone else notice it’s A LOT of Chelsea players?
Jig,
Ballack was the cernterpiece of a team that went to the final in 2002 and the semi-final in 2006. He is a HUGE loss for Germany!
add Beckham to the list
Everyone professing that the sky is falling due to a rash of injuries is displaying WAY TOO much overreaction.
Would we like to see EVERY star healthy? Of course, not even a question.
However, this is a sporting competition and injuries are a part of every competition. That’s what makes winning this so special: Skill, Effort and Luck (in no particular order).
Injuries happen in sports. It doesn’t taint, take away or diminish the sacred glory that is…hoisting a World Cup.
Please, everyone, take your tissue, hold your favorite stuffed animal and then buck up.
The sky IS NOT falling.
Can’t tell if that was supposed to be derogatory or not…
I wouldn’t dismiss Palacios’ impact on Honduras as anything less than Essien to Ghana or Drogba to Ivory Coast.
While he may not be as much of a household name, Palacios is easily in the discussion for the best player in the CONCACAF region & definitely the heart and soul of Honduras.
Losing Palacios (potentially) vastly effects a Honduras side that actually could have shocked a lot of people this World Cup run, in my opinion.
They were definitely my dark horse.
Not sure if it was Josh Gross, but he seemed to be wearing a cast for his entire career. I miss that guy.
Essien is the biggest loss. He’s the heartbeat of that Ghana team obviously, and there’s no one to replace him.
HOWEVER, people that are saying this world cup is going to suck are idiots. All this really means is that there are going to be more young players that are going to get the chance to step up and show how good they are?
No Ballack? Thats fine, I’m actually more excited to see Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil anyway.
No Pirlo? I’m a Pirlo fan, but he’s past it. Ricardo Montolivo and Claudio Marchisio are just as good.
No Robben? Thats a bummer, but all it means is now Eljero Elia is going to see the pitch more, and thats quite exciting as well.
why?
Oh no, I’m sorry that story stung you. Keep in mind it’s tongue-in-cheek.
Essien w/o a doubt! that guy is the heart of the Ghana team. they are done.
Don’t worry we had that bug about a few months ago. See Holden, Clark, ect. We have paid our dues, now let the other countries have theirs.
Let them continue to belittle us and we will rise just like 1776 and 1950
Can we have the U.S. guys practice in bubble wrap for the next week? The injury bug is making me mighty nervous.
Let’s hope the States keep healthy. In the meantime, here’s a link to the Guardian’s (UK) Preview of the U.S. team…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/05/usa-world-cup-2010-team-guide
It reads… “The Stars and Stripes have few stellar performers.”
We shall see.
morning, noon and night
I’d say Ballack too. All three players were key to the lineup, [arguably] the team’s best player, as well as the captain of the side.
Is it really the long season that causes wear and tear or is it that the longer season provides a larger number of opportunities to have challenges that injure a player. Ballack (ankle) Drogba (fractured ulna, now surgically plated), Mikel (ankle), Ferdinand (Ligament damage), Essien (MCL) and Palacios (tibia) have all suffered injures that are trauma related, not wear and tear related.
Subtracting the trauma injuries out, and because I’m too lazy to look up the Suazo injury, only Pirlo and Robben are soft tissue/muscular injuries. That’s TWO only in all of the World Cup which would be deemed over use injuries. In Robben’s case, hamstring injuries just happen, though he hadn’t dived in that game which could indicate he’s been diving all these years to effectively stave off hamstring injuries. Pirlo’s calf? Not sure, but crap happens as it did with Beckham.
32 nations x 23 players = 736 players. Having a few go down with non-trauma related injuries would be expected and not the abnormal happening some are suggesting. If there is any correlation between injuries and playing longer into the season, my theory is that it simply is a numbers game where you’re exposing yourself to a greater number of potential injuries the more friendlies, qualifiers, club team games and even practices you participate in.
This year’s World Cup will be like an AYSO tournament, but instead of everybody getting participation trohphies everyone will go home with injuries instead, including the fans:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8724848.stm
Rooney’s biggest injury is his temper. I see a red card in his near future.
I don’t understand people’s thinking on injuries. Soccer is a contact sport and injuries are inevitable. I expect every player to miss time every year due to injuries. The ones that don’t are the rare exceptions. Some fraction of major names missing the world cup is inevitable.
Note also that a large percentage on the injury list are over 30. The world cup is a young man’s game.
pwned
Costly is injured?
But then again some of these injuries are not serious enough to keep them out of the tournament. Drogba can wrap up that broken arm and play. I remember a CONCACAF champions league match between D.C united and someone else where someone had broken their arm but they wrapped it up and he went on to score a goal.
Yes, I think players are injured more frequently because of the long seasons. I also think clubs may pressure players to sit out if they are questionable (as we’ve seen with Charlie Davies). The clubs pay the bills. I don’t think that’s the case with the African stars because they’re going to want to play on their home continent.
I have a feeling that this World Cup is going to suck.
Personally I will miss seeing Arjen Robben play. He is a load of fun to watch (except for the diving). Sarah Jessica Parker, I mean Rudd van Nistelroy would be a nice replacement. I love that guy.
As far as hitting a team hard I would have to say Drogba if he is in fact unable to play.
How about Jozy? Any word?
If Drogba doesn’t play, he might be the biggest injury. But I’m pretty sure Drogba and the Ivory Coast will do whatever they can to get him to play.
Drogba is a hero and icon in Africa, I want to see him play.
But as Fireball pointed out, there are some other injuries like Cabanas that will have huge impacts but some of the other injuries came much earlier and the national teams had time to adjust.
Injuries for starting XI players will always be detrimental to teams.
Did you notice that most, if not all the names on this list, are players who endured a long European season. Think the injures have anything to do with their bodies wearing down? I do.
Agree.
However, ESPN will get their mojo going on Drogba playing with a broken, surgically repaired arm. They will interview everyone in his hometown and all will “hail” the amazing Drogba, playing with a broken arm.
I do think he will get in a couple of minutes in some games, at least that looks how it is setting up.
PS. This is a blog. Who cares about a couple of grammar errors or clear mistakes? (Honduras was identified in the article and all except the most casual reader knows he plays for Honduras and not Ghana). If you want perfect grammar go buy print media that has news that is 2 days old.
I always viewed the blogs as the sort of bar discussion and don’t want top spend an extra 5 minutes reviewing for grammar and puncutation.
Now, if the auhor of the article went on and on about how Palacios injury really hurts Ghana, especially with Essien out….howl away.
Good one never to forget. A Torres-Jones duo would, I believe, be deadly in the midfield.
I would add Jose Bosingwa to the list of injured stars.
Regardless of the injuries, this should still be a word cup, especially for the US. Herc and Buddle have 2 goals in 2 games. Jozy is back in training and will cause Terry problems with cards and test Ledley’s physical game. LD has 3 assists in 3 games. Dempsey is looking good on the ball. We have good attacking subs. The only negatives are that Findley can’t finish or give a final ball, and that although we have 7 goals in three games, we’ve conceded 6.
He’s out of the world cup and Jermaine Jones is flying in to SA. With all the media on the team no one reported his ground breaking recovery…Can only hope.
England is supposed to be playing a team from South Africa’s own league instead of an international team. I would expect a few more to be added to this list soon. Not to say that the league is made up of hacks, but, we’ll see.
‘affect’
I’m still praying that rooney is fatiqued
Ives: How about Jermaine Jones, USA? The best DM in the Bundesliga before his injury — He almost certainly would have been a starter for the team if healthy. You could make a credible argument that he would have been our best player.
The American media (mainly ESPN) seems to be very concerned over the loss of star power, fearing that the casual American soccer fan may not be as entertained by this WC, because Americans like them some stars!
While there is a lot of talent on the injured list, Drogba is really the only key loss in this regard. Rio Ferdinand is not going to make any casual American jump out of their seat with superb defensive positioning, or even a great tackle. While Essien and Ballack are great players, they don’t have the flash or the flare of Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, etc. These are the stars Americans want to see, and will be amazed by.
Of course, to pure soccer fans, each player on the list takes a lot away from WC.
Any word on Rico Clark’s hamstring?
It’s sad for these guys to miss any of the World Cup. Feel especially bad for the African guys. Hopefully some of the injured can make it back and hopefully the bug stays away from the Yanks.
The European club season is just too long, no surprise that players end up crocking before the World Cup.
While there are indeed mistakes, I think the point is that we’re supposed to be discussing which injury is most important. We all know who Wilson Palacios plays for, so I don’t see how it’s necessary to be the first person to point out the mistake to everyone else.
That said, Drogba’s injury and Robben’s injury (though I think Drogba will play with one usable arm) have officially removed those two teams from my pool of dark horse favorites. I still think Holland will go far, so Drogba’s injury ranks as the most important in my mind.
I have mixed feelings about Robben. Yes he can score impossible goals but he is also a diver. He’s a fragile player so it could be good it happens now and not during a Worldcup game. Now at least Holland can call up another player. One I would not mind being called up is Ruud Van Nistelrooy, he could be a great super sub for Holland. Or get Engelaar back who is a good backup for the midfield. Anyway hope his injury is not serious and he will make the worldcup after all.
The editing on small things like grammatical errors that rarely really effect the large picture of entries on a blog that is the first thing I go to for my morning noon and night itching for the beautiful game is getting ‘worse.’ Thanks for your work Ives.
Its a tragedy and a total bummer that so many stars are getting injured.
Yeah on top of Hargreaves, Beckham, Cabanas, Davies, Costly…
It’s a tie between Essien for Ghana and Drogba for Ivory Coast for the highest-impact loss.