Drogba Not Healthy For Chelsea, Won't Be Healthy for Cote d'Ivoire
by Richard Farley on Apr 23, 2010 12:53 AM EDT
4 comments
Didier Drogba had to play the last 45 minutes of Chelsea's match on Saturday after his groin injury flared up,
Didier Drogba's groin injury flared up before the second half kick-off Saturday at White Hart Lane. With Carlo Ancelotti announcing his second and third substitutions minutes before, the Blues' were facing the threat of playing the final forty-five minutes of their derby with only ten men.
The strange scenario brought attention to Drogba's injury status, with news coming out this week that the Premiership's second leading scorer need hernia surgery. However, as The Independent tells us, Drogba won't get surgery. Chelsea's title race is too important, and after that, the World Cup will be too close. Instead, he will get by on adrenalin:
Chelsea, who hold a one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table ahead of Sunday's home game with Stoke City, desperately need Drogba to lead the cause, following the surprise 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane. But the Ivorian had admitted that with the club closing in on their first Premier League title for four years and with the FA Cup final against Portsmouth looming, he is unable to play at full power.
"Maybe adrenalin has got me through matches," Drogba said, "but you can't continue for long like that. The season's long and I've had quite a few niggles and I'm starting to feel it a bit. I had a hernia operation six years ago but it's playing up again and causing me discomfort.
"I will see if I need an operation, but something needs to be done because I can't continue like this next season. There's no question of having anything done now though, with the World Cup on the way."
Cote d'Ivoire is coming off a disappointing Cup of Nations, just underwent a coaching change, and in a South Africa group the contains two of the world's top five rated teams (by FIFA), their best player will not be at full strength.
I'm trying to find a silver lining.
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WOW…that’ll be a real blow to the Ivory Coast if he’s not available for the WC. I’m sure he’ll be on the squad, but if he’s 50% of his normal self, that’s a huge blow for them. Puts the group in a whole different light…from being the Group of Death with 3 legitimate teams battling to advance, to a group that would become Brazil’s and Portugal’s to lose.
Agreed ...
… that if the performance at CAN didn’t make us think twice about CdI …
… if the rash firing of Halidhodzic didn’t make us think twice …
… then this should.
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