Africa's biggest star out

The news could not be much worse for the sport of football in the continent of Africa.

Already having announced Michael Essien will be out of the tournament - probably the second best player in Africa - now the face of the sport on the continent Didier Drogba has said he now too will be out of the World Cup having suffered having suffered a broken arm in the team's last friendly against Japan this morning before the Ivory Coast actual campaign was to begin on June 15th vs. Portugal.

The specific injury appears to be a broken elbow, which would be devastating because it would mean he would likely have to immobilize the entire arm (I know because I had the injury before). Had it been a wrist injury, likely a soft cast could have done enough to protect the arm and allowed him to play. However, although Drogba told Kolo Toure he could not play, the doctors have not said that yet and a team spokesman said he could still play.

I'm not sure what dufus broke a mirror or what black cat walked across someone's path or what buffoon walked under a latter or whatever bad luck is dropping so many big stars, but let's hope Drogba can play because not only is he one of the biggest stars period in the game, Africa needs him and the Ivory Coast to perform well. The Ivory Coast was considered a dark horse to win this tournament, but without Drogba they lose by far the best player on the team.

In other news...

Rio Ferdinand, who suffered an injury-plagued English Premier League season with back problem, now also appears to be a doubt for the Three Lions at the World Cup.

The English captain limped out of practice today after a clash with teammate Emille Heskey and suffered a knee problem that had him on crutches after going to the hospital. But the extent of the injury is unknown for now.

In light of the news England coach Fabio Capello put Tottenham defender Michael Dawson on ready alert standby to potentially replace Ferdinand if need be. Capello has up until the day before the team's first game to replace Ferdinand.

What that means for England is only more trouble. According to ESPNsoccernet, Matthew Upson or Ledley King would be the first choices to replace Ferdinand in the middle, but I am not convinced. I would think Capello brought Jamie Carragher out retirement for a reason, cover for either of his two center backs. King has had knee problems that prevents him from training every day - one that seems likely to shorten his career. Upson - although highly rated - played for one of the biggest under-achieving teams in the Premiership this season, West Ham. But Carragher has long been a rock at the back, and his preferred position is in the middle not on the outside where England had been playing when he previously decided to retire.

What this means for teams like the U.S., only more good news. The one team that can rival the U.S. for injuries to its best players is England. First choice holding midfielder Garreth Barry only trained with the team for the first time today since suffering a major ankle injury earlier in May. First-team keeper David James has been dealing with a knee injury as well that has limited his training time, and the Three Lions have several players like Ashley Cole that are coming off lengthy injury absences late in the domestic season.