Drogba doubt for World Cup

Star striker suffers broken right arm in friendly

Last updated: 4th June 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Drogba doubt for World Cup

Drogba: Out injured

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Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba could miss the World Cup after fracturing his right elbow.

The skipper left the field clutching his right arm in the 2-0 friendly success over Japan in Switzerland on Friday after a clash in the 16th minute with Brazilian-born defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka.

A hospital scan has now confirmed the injury, and team-mate Kolo Toure says the striker is out of the finals.

Manchester City's Toure said he was informed of the news by Drogba himself.

"For him, he said, the World Cup is finished," said Toure.

A team spokesman responded quickly to Toure's comments, insisting that Drogba is 'definitely not out' of the World Cup at this stage.

Worry

Earlier, before the injury was confirmed, team boss Sven Goran Eriksson had spoken of his worry over Drogba.

He said: "It's an elbow injury but we don't know how bad it is, we (are going) straight to the hospital.

"I think we should get an answer before we leave.

"If it's serious, it's very worrying, he is our captain, one of the best strikers in the world."

Highs and lows

Drogba experienced the highs and lows of the game in quick succession as he had helped open the scoring in favour of the Africans just three minutes earlier, taking a free-kick which was deflected in off Tanaka.

The Ivorians should have seen off their weaker opponents by a larger margin but had to wait until the 79th minute for Toure to add a second goal to seal the win following a Saka Tiene free-kick.

Drogba's replacement Seydou Doumbia wasted several opportunities, firing over after Toure set him up on the half hour and then shooting off target seconds before the break, while Aruna Dindane also went close as Japan struggled to hold their lines.

Meanwhile, Shunsuke Nakamura might have given the Japanese something to cheer but his free-kick five minutes after the interval was collected smartly by Ivorian keeper Boubacar Barry.

Japan must now try to find some form ahead of their Group E meetings with further African opposition in the shape of Cameroon as well as Denmark and Holland, while Ivory Coast will go up against Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G.