Ivory Coast ecstatic as injured Drogba returns to training
June 11th, 2010 - 8:32 pm ICT by IANS
Sharpeville (South Africa) June 11 (DPA) Ivory Coast fans were in an ecstatic mood Friday after learning that star player Didier Drogba had returned to World Cup training, less than a week after fracturing his arm.
The Chelsea striker wore a light protective cast on his broken right arm and avoided drills involving contact with other players, but was still able to move freely and kick a ball around during Thursday evening’s training session.
Coach Sven Goran Eriksson now says Drogba could even feature in Tuesday’s opening game against Portugal.
“If the game had been today or tomorrow, he wouldn’t play. But there are still some days. He might play against Portugal,” Eriksson said.
Fans in the country’s largest city, Abidjan, took to the streets and cheered upon hearing the news.
Many of them had feared that the team’s top striker might miss out on the tournament because of the injury, which he sustained after a clash with Japan’s Marcus Tulio Tanaka during a friendly in Switzerland June 4.
- Drogba fractures his elbow; likely to miss World Cup - Jun 04, 2010
- Gloom turns to joy as Drogba enters game - Jun 15, 2010
- Drogba left out of starting line-up against Portugal - Jun 15, 2010
- Successful operation keeps Drogba's World Cup dreams alive - Jun 07, 2010
- Drogba undergoes suergery to salvage World Cup hopes - Jun 05, 2010
- Brazil seek quick progress as Ivory Coast bank on Drogba - Jun 19, 2010
- Portugal, Ivory Coast share points (Lead) - Jun 15, 2010
- Drogba's despair could pep Portugal in group of death - Jun 14, 2010
- Kaka sent off as Brazil beat Ivory Coast to go through (Lead) - Jun 21, 2010
- Drogba set to play against Brazil - Jun 19, 2010
- Sven's 'right time' arrival to help Ivory Coast 'win big' in WC: Drogba - Mar 31, 2010
- Ivory Coast go out despite 3-0 win over North Korea (Lead) - Jun 26, 2010
- Ivory Coast ready to show up in South Africa (Group G team profile) - Jun 01, 2010
- Eriksson vows to take revenge on Portugal over 2006 World Cup, 2004 Euro exit - Jun 05, 2010
- Man with golden heart Drogba dedicated to helping world's sick - Nov 20, 2010
Tags: city abidjan, clash, coach, didier drogba, dpa, ecstatic, game, ivory coast, japan, portugal, right arm, south africa, star player, striker, switzerland, tanaka, training session, tulio, world cup