Drogba could shock his fans and return to the pitch within a week, it’s been reported. The Ivory Coast captain was seriously injured after running into a Japanese player last week in a friendly match. He reportedly suffered a broken arm.
Now, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is hinting Drogba is healing well. “If the game had been today or tomorrow, he wouldn’t play. But there are still some days. He might play against Portugal,” he told journalists in Johannesburg moments before the World Cup’s opening ceremonies began, according to Reuters Africa.
Ivory Coast face Portugal next Tuesday in its Group G opening match in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth.
Drogba is seen as more than just an athlete. He’s been regarded as an epic peacekeeper who has unified the Ivory Coast, which is divided between a rebel-controlled north and a government-controlled south, as the Canadian Press reports.
“In 2005, he was credited with helping to end a civil war, dropping to his knee and begging his countrymen to overcome their differences and put down their weapons,” CP wrote.
