... when players begin to pick up injuries that will certainly eliminate them from World Cup contention. Last weekend, Alan Smith incurred a horrific leg injury that will certainly eliminate him from World Cup consideration. It's hard to know if Smith was really in Sven-Goran Eriksson's thinking for the squad--Smith's had an up and down year as a converted defensive midfielder--but his versatility as a player would have made him an attractive prospect.
Someone who's much more of a lynchpin in his country's plans is frequent joke-butt Francesco Totti, who suffered a broken fibula in Roma's match with Empoli last weekend. Totti's case is one of those difficult "he'll be ready just in time for the World Cup" situations. If you're Marcelo Lippi, do you take him or not? Lippi would be pilloried if Totti was fit and left out of the squad, but playing back into form is a difficult thing to do during the Cup itself. (And especially when the player likely to be marking you in the first game is not exactly known for being a shrinking violet.)
Speaking as a clearly biased supporter of one of Italy's group E opponents, the best case scenario is that Totti recover in time for the Cup and is included in the starting eleven, but is generally out of shape and useless. Same goes for Jan Koller for that matter.
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