The France and Bayern Munich winger was ruled out of the tournament, as was his Les Bleus team-mate Clement Grenier, to leave a huge hole in the plans of coach Didier Deschamps. There also remains a doubt about back-up goalkeeper Steve Mandanda after he suffered a crack in his first cervical verterbra (neck) during Marseilles clash with Guingamp, although he remains in the 23. Colombia had been worried about the fitness of striker Radamel Falcao for months following his anterior cruciate ligament injury in January. After months of uncertainty, Jose Pekerman finally confirmed that the Monaco star will not be fit in time to feature in the summer showpiece as he unveiled his 23-man squad. Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo suffered a broken leg following a clash during his sides 0-0 friendly draw with Republic of Ireland and could require surgery, meaning he will not make the finals in Brazil. On the same day, Mexicos Luis Montes also suffered a fractured leg shortly after scoring for his side in a 3-1 win over Ecuador, dealing a blow to Miguel Herreras plans for the tournament. Croatias Niko Kranjcar paid the price for his exertions in QPRs Championship play-off final victory over Derby as he picked up a hamstring injury which will leave him on the treatment table for much of the summer. Netherlands have been hit the hardest of all the teams in Brazil, with Rafael van der Vaart ruled out with a calf injury and joining Paris Saint- Germain right-back Gregory van der Wiel and Romas Kevin Strootman (both knee) on the sidelines. Victor Valdes tore his anterior cruciate ligament in what proved to be his last game for Barcelona against Celta Vigo in March and Spain will also be without Thiago Alcantara after the Bayern Munich man underwent surgery on a knee ligament problem. England have already been robbed of the services of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott. The fleet-footed wideman ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during an FA Cup clash with Tottenham in January, and will not be on the plane to South America. Two other players who had high hopes of being named in Roy Hodgsons squad, Tottenham pair Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend , will spend the summer recovering from pelvic and ankle injuries respectively.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 09:00:20 +0000
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