The Centre Circle

Didier Drogba has suffered a suspected broken arm in a pre tournament friendly against Japan and is almost certainly ruled out of the World Cup. The Ivory Coast striker left the field in the first half after 16 minutes clutching his left elbow after a seemingly innocent clash with Japan’s Tanaka. A worried Sven-Goren Eriksson later explained  "It's an elbow injury but we don't know how bad it is, we (are going) straight to the hospital. If it's serious, it's very worrying, he is our captain, one of the best strikers in the world."

In the game, the Ivory Coast won 2-0, Drogba scoring with a deflected free-kick just 3 minutes before he was injured. The win was rounded off with a headed goal from Kolo Toure.