The injury domino

Many of the world's top players have had a very long season. And after a long season, now comes the world's foremost tournament. Many are still trying to get past injuries. Some are already ruled out due to injuries, while other have suffered the horrible fate of getting injured during the warm up to the tournament. Here is some of the domino of world Cup injuries:

• Germany: Marco Reus was injured in last week's friendly against Armenia. A loss for Reus, and a huge loss Germany.
• France has lost their best player, Frank Ribery. Although France has been good lately, this would seem to hamper their possibilities. That said, many teams have before done well without their super-star...
• Colombia will miss their star striker, Radamel Falcao. However, I do not believe this will matter that much, as Colombia already has good striking power. Colombia's weakness will be elsewhere.
• Netherlands: they have more men down, with Rafael Van der Vaart, Gregory van der Wiel and Kevin Strootman all out. Still a strong side, but not as complete as they could be.
• Portugal has brought Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe to Brazil, but both remain doubtful. I would be surprised if they do not force them on the pitch anyway. Portugal's success depends on Ronaldo.
• Uruguay: Luis Suarez has been doubtful, and recently underwent an operation, and he is apparently ready.
• Belgium: Cristian Benteke was injured before the tournament, and Belgium will have to rely mainly on Lukaku and Hazard.
• Spain: Diego Costa has been doubtful, but seems to be ready. Thiago Alcantara is their main loss, but are otherwise at full strength.
• Italy's Ricardo Montolivo fractured his leg in a friendly against Ireland. The curse of the friendlies, where players are dead scared to get injured...
• Russia's Roman Shirokov is out, and this will surely weaken the Russian midfield.
• Mexico's Luis Montes was one of the new players brought in by Luis Herrera when the North Americans almost missed qualification for the World Cup. A broken leg in a friendly against Ecuador has also left him out of the tournament.
• England's big loss is Theo Walcott

The absentees...

It has been a already long football season for the professional but tired legs of many footballers, and the preparation for the coming World Cup in South Africa has meant many teams are seriously weakened. Many players will be sorely missed by their teams as well as by the fans:

• Rio Ferdinand: the normal captain of the English favourites is out with a knee injury he got during training.
  
• Michael Ballack: an extraordinary player who will be missed, is out due to the Ghanaian Kevin Prince Boateng's vicious tackle in the FA Cup final. This seriously weakens the German team, who will also be without Simon Rolfes and Rene Adler.
• Michael Essien: Ghana's and Chelsea's midfield dynamo did not get past his long-term injury, and this seriously weakens Ghana, where also the veteran Stephen Appiah has been doubtful (but he is in South Africa).
  
• Didier Drogba, one of the best strikers in the world and a lethal weapon for the Ivory Coast, fractured his arm in a friendly match against Chile. He is in South Africa, and it seems that he may play, but it all remains highly doubtful.
  
• John Obi Mikel, yet another Chelsea player is out for Nigeria due to a knee injury.
  
• Humberto Suazo, "Chupete", Chile's leading striker, got a hamstring injury in a friendly match against Israel. He is in South Africa, but it is doubtful he will be able to play. Marcelo Bielsa, Chile's coach, is known to push his players very hard.
• Andrea Pirlo: The best Italian player of the 2006 final, and dynamo from AC Milan, suffered a calf injury during training, and will be out for Italy's first two matches, but it is hoped he will be recovered for the knock-out stages. No matter what, his absence is a serious problem for Marcelo Lippi.
• Miroslav Karhan, one of Slovakia's most experienced and veteran midfielders, is out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
• Carlos Costly, Honduras' best striker, is out the entire tournament after breaking the foot, and this also seriously hampers Honduras' hopes of upsetting someone in their difficult group.
  

For other teams many players have been doubtful: Simon Kjær for Denmark, Jozy Altidore for the USA, Julio Cesar for Brazil...
Smaller nations, more dependent on their stars, will probably suffer the absence of their stars more than the bigger teams, but the dynamic for each team will be changed.

In the end, the winner of the World Cup may be the team that best manages its injuries!