Fabio Capello's World Cup preparations suffered a major setback tonight after the England left-back Ashley Cole, one of his proven world-class players, was ruled out for three months with a fractured ankle, leaving him only weeks to prove his fitness before the tournament begins.
"It is sad news for me because he is a very important player," the England coach said last night. "He is good when he is defending and really dangerous when we go forward. I hope this problem will not be so strong [serious]."
The injury to England's first-choice left-back increases the likelihood of Wayne Bridge and John Terry, whose relationship has been sundered by the Chelsea captain's alleged affair with Bridge's former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel, starting alongside each other at this summer's World Cup. Asked about Cole's prospects of making the tournament the Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, told Sky last night: "I don't know. I hope so for him and for the England team."
Cole was forced off in the 57th minute of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Everton following a strong but fair challenge by Landon Donovan, the captain of the United States team who will provide England's first opponents in South Africa.
Chelsea's initial assessment at Goodison Park was that he had suffered "a slight problem", according to their assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, but scans today revealed the damage to be far worse. A statement released by the club confirmed that: "Ashley Cole suffered a fracture to his left ankle in last night's game against Everton and is expected to be out of action for approximately three months."
Given the dearth of options at left-back, it is almost certain the England manager will put Bridge's professionalism to the test with a call-up for the friendly against Egypt at Wembley on 3 March. Capello also has worries over the fitness of his new captain, Rio Ferdinand, whose back has been a cause of concern.
England are expected to play two other friendlies before the World Cup, against Mexico at Wembley on 24 May and Japan at their pre-tournament training camp on 29 or 30 May, although the Football Association has yet to confirm either fixture.
Capello has made it clear he will not follow the Sven-Goran Eriksson route of taking unfit players to a World Cup, leaving Cole with a struggle to prove himself before the England squad depart for their training base in Rustenburg on 2 June. Bridge's international career appeared to be fading under the Italian, who briefly tried James Milner in the role, until he produced an encouraging display in the friendly defeat by Brazil in Qatar in November.
Other candidates include Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock, although he is not expected to return from a shin injury until the Carling Cup final three days before the Egypt game, and the in-form but uncapped Everton defender Leighton Baines.
Based on Chelsea's assessment of a three-month absence, Cole will not feature in the club's title challenge again this season, with their Premier League campaign due to close at home against Wigan Athletic on 9 May. The only way Cole can take part in a competitive fixture before England open their World Cup campaign on 12 June will be if Chelsea reach the FA Cup final on 15 May or the Champions League final in Madrid a week later.
Cole's injury represents a huge setback to Chelsea's ambitions, with their lead in the Premier League cut to one point by Manchester United yesterday and with José Mourinho's Internazionale to come in the Champions League in under a fortnight. Though Ancelotti can deploy Yuri Zhirkov and Paulo Ferreira at left-back, the loss of a player fundamental to Chelsea's system will be keenly felt. "We are very disappointed because he's a very important player for us," said Ancelotti. "Now we have to do our best to get him recovered quickly, although we have Yuri, who is a fantastic full-back, so we can use him."
Only last week the Chelsea manager had said: "It's difficult to find a full-back like Ashley. This year he's scored three goals and, for us, it's important what he's doing. He's doing important work because I need for our play to have a full-back who pushes up."
Ancelotti was responding to claims from the Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, that Bridge was the best full-back in England. "That's his opinion. I agree with Capello. He puts Ashley in the team," countered the Chelsea manager, but ironically the City player dragged into the Terry scandal now has a glorious chance to secure a place in South Africa.
