Injuries and Scares

The stars of these World Cup seem to be leaving the scene before the fun has even started. First Rooney, then injury scares with John Terry and Steven Gerrad (hip problem in training). It would be a disaster for England if all 3 are out.

Cisse of France was ruled out of the World Cup after breaking his right leg in a 3-1 win over China and Michael Ballack (Germany) will miss the opener against Costa Rica after suffering a strain to his right calf in a 3-0 warm-up win over Colombia.

The latest news now is that Ronaldo is down with fever (Déjà vu to 1998 Finals with France). Ronaldo may not have performed well at club level but whenever he is with Brazil, he is still a potent force to reckon with and his absence may be crucial to Brazil's chances.

In the Dutch camp, coach Marco van Basten has to contend with an injured trio of Phillip Cocu, Wesley Sneijder and playmaker Rafael van der Vaart who hopefully can be available to face Serbia and Montenegro in Leipzig on Sunday.

Despite all the gloom, the good thing for Soccer Pundit is that Wayne Rooney's injury seems to be healing fast and he may even feature in the opening match against Paraguay on Saturday.