World Cup 2014: Germany MF Marco Reus suffers ankle injury in friendly
By Mike Dyce
The World Cup is less than a week away, and the 32 teams competing are playing in friendlies ahead of the tournament to warm up and figure out their rosters, tactics and line ups. It isn’t without risk and we’ve seen several teams loose players to injury and need a last minute replacement.
More from World Cup
- USMNT news: Berhalter announced, Adams to Villa, Pepi to PSV
- USMNT news: 3 managers Americans should have hired instead of Gregg Berhalter
- USMNT news: Berhalter returns, Balogun to Inter, Altidore to Greece
- USMNT news: Vieira next head coach, Adams to Liverpool, Cowell to Europe
- USMNT news: Pepi to PSV, Richardson to the US, Brooks safe
The most recent of which is German midfielder Marco Reus, who suffered an ankle injury in a friendly at the end of the first half in Friday’s friendly against Armenia.
From Sports Illustrated’s Planet Futbol:
"Running shoulder to shoulder with Artur Yedigaryan, Reus twisted his left ankle badly before letting out a scream and eventually being helped off the field. Reports from Germany state that he was taken to a hospital for examination."
He joins a list of big names that have suffered injuries leading up to the World Cup. France’s Franck Ribery, who finished third in FIFA Ballon d’Or voting has been ruled out of the tournament with a lower back injury.
Portugal captain and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who won that 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or over Ribery, has also been dealing with an injury that a Ghanian witch doctor is taking credit for. Ghana is in the same group with not only Portugal, but Germany as well, so we’ll see if he takes credit for this injury as well.
There hasn’t been any report on the severity of Reus’ injury, but it is another blow for the World Cup favorites. Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm entered World Cup camp with lingering injuries and Reus dealing with an ankle injury can only hamper the favorite’s chances at the trophy.
For American fans, learning that the stars of the two favorites in your group are dealing with injuries can only serve as a positive if they can stay healthy and avoid injuries themselves.