Jay Rodriguez

As mentioned in previous articles, nothing disappoints football fans more than the devastating news of a player unable to take part in this summer’s World Cup due to injury.

Recently, Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez has been ruled out of the tournament in Brazil, as the player ruptured his cruciate anterior ligament during a clash against Manchester City. It certainly is devastating news for both England fans and football neutrals, as Rodriguez’s 17 goals this season for Southampton identified him as a player to look out for who was almost certain of a World Cup spot due to his club performances.

It is also a worry for England coach Roy Hodgson, who is already deprived of Theo Walcott in attack due to the same injury, further diminishing the manager’s options in attack.

Last week, it was announced that Germany international and Borussia Dortmund starlet Ilkay Gundogan will not be fit in time for the World Cup due to the player’s recurring back injuries. Though his pain does seem to be recovering, Dortmund head coach Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Gundogan will not be fully recovered in time for Brazil. Meanwhile, German head coach Joachim Loew will now be hoping that Sami Khedira returns back to full fitness by June, as both players seem to excel in the same position.

Although the football fan-base has received some good news in recent weeks with positive recovery processes from players such as Radamel Falcao and Giuseppe Rossi, the increasing list of injury casualties is the slight glitch everyone experiences during the World Cup build up. Although there’s obviously still copious amount of talent left for us to enjoy during the World Cup, let’s all hope that this list doesn’t increase until June.