Rio Ferdinand: 'I think somebody cursed me.'
The England captain Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury after he injured himself in a collision with Emile Heskey.
"It was a tackle and then there was big pain," confirmed England boss Fabio Capello. "The other players were upset. They stopped training."
He added: "All the players who are here with me are important. But he is one of the starting players, the captain, a leader."
The stricken Manchester United centre back has spoken of the devastation at the knee injury which has ruled him out of the World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 31-year-old defender damaged his knee ligaments after an accidental collision with Emile Heskey and, after undergoing scans, the prognosis suggests he will be out of action for around six weeks.
His agent, Pini Zahavi, has revealed the Manchester United man's disappointment but he believes he will bounce back and lead the Three Lions in Brazil 2014.
Speaking to reporters, Zahavi said: "Rio said: 'I think somebody cursed me.' That is honestly how he feels. 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 and help England win it. He had prepared himself so well. But he is a very strong man and he will be back. I'm sure he will be leading England in four years time at the next World Cup."
Having flown out to South Africa replacement Michael Dawson has backed Ledley King to take the place of the injured Rio Ferdinand in the heart of England's defence at the World Cup.
Dawson joined his England colleagues in South Africa on Saturday after earning a recall to Fabio Capello's 23-man squad in the wake of the knee injury that has ended Ferdinand's World Cup hopes.
And the 26-year-old has backed Tottenham team-mate King to set aside doubts over his fitness to become a fixture alongside John Terry in the back four in South Africa.
"Without a shadow of doubt Ledley won't let anyone down," Dawson said. "The last couple of months with Tottenham he played three games in seven days, so he can do that - and when he's fit, he is world class."
He added: "Playing alongside Ledley, he certainly brings a calmness to the whole team. You look at him and he never seems to get flustered. He's not someone who will rant and rave. He's actually quite quiet. But when he does talk everyone listens - and he leads by example and his performances show that. Everyone wishes him all the best. He's worked hard, he's been injured for quite some time with his knee but he has remained mentally strong. Whenever he plays he's fantastic, he deserves to go to the World Cup."
Dawson, whose World Cup hopes were in tatters just a few days ago, described the turnaround in his fortunes as "madness".
He added to Daily Star Sunday: "They say a week's a long time in football and that's certainly been true for me. I was obviously gutted when I got the call on Tuesday to say that I would not be a part of the 23 but here I am now in South Africa. It's madness."
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