It seems that every team in this summer’s FIFA World Cup is destined to lose a player to a freak injury merely days before the big tournament.
England have had captain Rio Ferdinand written off last week, Germany will be without inspirational skipper Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba looks set to miss a portion of the Ivory Coast’s campaign.
Two of this weekend’s most high-profile knocks have come in the form of Holland’s Arjen Robben and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan.
Forlan, you’ll remember became the first player to wear the adidas f50 adiZero after it’s reveal during the UEFA Cup Final, and Robben has been a key figure for the new football boot, wearing them on the day he clinched the League and Cup double with Bayern Munich and during the Champions League Final.
Dutch Ace Robben appeared as a second half sub during his side’s 6-1 thrashing of Hungary, helping himself to two goals before picking up his injury. The former Real Madrid man attempted to backheel a through-ball on the edge of the 18 yard box, but seemed to jar his foot into the ground as he made contact with the ball.
Robben went to ground following the innocuous incident, which Duth coach Bert van Marwijk confirmed as a Hamstring injury, prevented the winger flying out to South Africa with his teammates this weekend.
Forlan, however, sustained his injury in a training ground clash with Walter Gargano. Reports suggest the two came together in a fairly high-impact clash that saw Forlan clutching his thigh.
Signs look better for Forlan than Robben, though, as the Uruguayan was diagnosed with just a badly bruised leg, and should be eligible for selection for the Olympic Sky Blues first game against France.
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