• World Cup

Capello laments England's injury 'curse'

ESPN staff
June 5, 2010
Rio Ferdinand is out of the World Cup © Getty Images
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Fabio Capello has lamented England's injury "curse" after he saw captain Rio Ferdinand ruled out of the World Cup on the first day of his team's training camp in South Africa.

Ferdinand sustained the injury during a challenge with Emile Heskey, and he has now been replaced in the squad by Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson.

It is the latest in a string of injury setbacks for England prior to the World Cup - there are question marks hanging over Gareth Barry's fitness, while David Beckham's bid to play in the tournament was scuppered by an Achilles problem sustained in March.

"It couldn't have been much worse on my first day," said Capello. "It was an accidental injury in training, but nothing to do with the pitch. It's the curse of the captain."

Ferdinand also bemoaned the "curse" after he suffered his latest setback in what has been an injury-curtailed season. "Rio said: 'I think somebody cursed me.' That is honestly how he feels," his agent Pini Zahavi told the Sun.

"Rio is very down. He cannot understand why this has happened to him. This injury is nothing to do with the ones he had before. It is completely different and it is very bad luck.

"Rio was feeling sharp and was ready for the World Cup. He has waited so long for this tournament and to try to help England win it. He had prepared himself so well."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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