That's right. Exactly one week left. This time next week, the weather will hopefully be as nice as it is today and we should be enjoying the opening ceremony and match of the 2010 World Cup.
But, it seems that last minute injuries are intent on causing havoc and despair everywhere.
The Barclays Premier League Golden Boot winner, Didier Drogba may miss out on the finals after suffering a fractured elbow whilst playing for the Ivory Coast in a friendly against Japan. The Elephants are anxiously waiting on the team doctor to come to a definite decision regarding the fitness of their captain. If they lose him, it would mean a massive blow to their chances. Everyone knows how good a player he is and how important he has been this year in Chelsea's double winning season. He has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances for the African team and is their leading talisman. The Ivory Coast are in a tough group: they must play Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. Losing Drogba would make an already difficult task even harder.
Also today, England fans have been once more forced to lament on the "injury curse" that always seems to hit one player, just before a tournament is about to start. Earlier this year, we already found out that Beckham would not be able to play in this year's finals. Now, it has been confirmed by the England medical staff that there is a very high possibility that captain Rio Ferdinand could miss this year's finals as well. He has not been fit for much of the season for Man Utd and after suffering a knee injury in training, it does not seem likely that he will go on to lead England out against the USA or any further games. Rio had actually flown out with the rest of the squad to their training base in Rustenburg, where the injury occurred. He then had a scan at the local hospital, from where he emerged on crutches, before being told of the extent of his injury. He is seeking a second opinion and the FA will release a statement once he has done so. This is a big setback for England, especially as their first game is in 8 days time. FIFA regulations do state that if there are any injuries to the chosen 23 up to 24 hours before the first game, then these injured players can be replaced by ones not named in the 23. This could mean a re-call for the dropped Michael Dawson, who was told only on Tuesday that he would not be flying out with the others. The Spurs centre back has played well and consistently for the majority of the season and Capello also has Ledley King, Jamie Carragher and Matt Upson available too. Still, Capello hasn't tried playing different players other than Ferdinand alongside Terry in the friendlies, so it will be interesting to see who he picks and whether the new partnership will work. There's not many days left to go now and a blow like this is certainly not what England would have wished for in the run up to their first World Cup game. It is, however unfortunate, quite typical as we have seen before on many a occasion.
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