Sports
2010 W/Cup:Capello bemoans England’s Injury Curse
Manager Fabio Capello says England have been cursed by bad luck after captain Rio Ferdinand’s injury-enforced departure from their World Cup squad.
Ferdinand was ruled out of the whole tournament after damaging knee ligaments in England’s first training session in South Africa.
“It couldn’t have been much worse on my first day,” said Capello.
“It was an accidental injury in training, but nothing to do with the pitch. It’s the curse of the captain.”
Ferdinand, who endured an injury-hit campaign with Manchester United, was appointed England captain in February after Capello stripped John Terry of the honour in the wake of revelations about the Chelsea defender’s private life.
But the 31-year-old did not take to the field with the captain’s armband on until England’s two pre-World Cup friendlies against Mexico and Japan, and must now watch Steven Gerrard lead the side into the sport’s biggest tournament.
For Capello, the disruption of losing his captain and key defender just a week before England’s first game of the tournament was a hammer blow.
“All the players who are here with me are important. But he is one of the starting players, the captain, a leader,” said Capello.
But the Italian said England would have to quickly move on from the setback, with much of the attention now focusing on who will be picked to partner Terry at the heart of England’s back four.
“You have to take into account this might happen: sometimes it happens during a game, sometimes in training, sometimes before you get to a final,” he said.
“You have to deal with it.”
Ledley King and Matthew Upson, two of the candidates for the vacancy, both missed team training yesterday.
King was training with England medical staff in the gym as part of the programme to manage his chronic knee condition, while Upson was suffering with a high temperature.
Ferdinand sustained the injury in the closing minutes of England’s training session after an innocuous challenge from striker Emile Heskey.
“It was a tackle and then there was big pain,” explained Capello.
“He put his feet in the grass with Heskey and then he moved. The other players were upset. They stopped training.”
Capello has made experienced midfielder Frank Lampard his new vice-captain following Ferdinand’s injury, and the Chelsea star said he feared for Ferdinand after seeing the incident at close quarters.
“He’s very down,” said Lampard, who raised the prospect of Ferdinand staying with the England squad rather than returning to the UK.
“It’s a huge competition, the biggest competition. It made me feel a bit sick in the stomach so I can’t imagine how he feels.”
Lampard, 31, added: “Rio is a top professional, a top lad and a top player and you feel for someone like that because he has put in a lot of hard work. He deserves to be at the biggest competition of our career and I feel for him personally.
“I’m very close to Rio, we’ve been through our careers together, and that’s why it’s upsetting to see that happen to a close mate.”
Ferdinand’s representative Pini Zahavi said that the defender was devastated by his premature exit from the tournament.
“Rio said: ‘I think somebody cursed me.’ That is honestly how he feels,” Zahavi.
“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 to 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.”
Ferdinand’s replacement in the squad is uncapped Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, who arrived in South Africa yesterday.
“It’s a crazy game and things can change in a split second,” he said.
“One minute I’m trying to arrange my holiday, then I get a call asking if I was on holiday because Rio had pulled out of training.
“I said ‘no’ and then I was just waiting by the phone before getting a call saying I would be picked up in an hour. It’s been a crazy day.”
Ferdinand’s injury grabbed the headlines which may well have otherwise focused on midfielder Gareth Barry’s return to training after an ankle injury.
Barry missed England’s training camp in Austria as he continued his rehabilitation from the injury he sustained towards the end of the Premier League season playing for Manchester City.
But despite the boost of seeing Barry return to light training on Friday, Capello said he would be cautious in terms of when the 29-year-old would be back in contention to play.
“About Barry, we are happy because he’s improving every day and getting better and better with every moment,” said Capello.
“I spoke with him on Wednesday and he says he’s really happy. There’s no swelling and his confidence is rising. He is getting stronger.
“He will work harder every day and we will see what happens.
“But we will also go slowly. This is the worst period. If you go too fast, it’s really dangerous.
“I’d prefer he didn’t play against the United States [England’s first game of the World Cup on 12 June] and is fit for the other games. We have to be careful at every moment.”
Goalkeeper David James returned to training yesterday after sitting out the initial session with a minor knee complaint.
The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.
The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”
Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.
The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.
The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.
A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.
Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.
Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.
The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.
The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.
Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.
Stephen Eloji (June 2028)
Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-
The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.
Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)
Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.
She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.
Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)
Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.
Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)
Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.
The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.
Glory Okon (January 2026)
Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.
She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.
Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)
Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.
Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.
Divine Oduduru (February 2029)
Oduduru’s career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.
Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)
Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.
Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.
Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)
Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.
Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.
The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.
Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.
Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.
Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.
“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.
River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.
“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”
Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”
Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.
The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.
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