Mikel out of World Cup

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has become the fourth Blues player to be ruled out of this summer's World Cup finals.

The Nigerian midfielder had missed the title run-in for his club as well as the FA Cup final in a bid to be fully fit for his country, but the Chelsea number 12 has lost his battle to be fit.

Mikel told the team he did not want to put his "career at risk," as his knee injury has yet to fully heal after recently going under the knife.

He now joins Germany's Michael Ballack and Ghana's Michael Essien on the sidelines, whilst Didier Drogba may also miss out after breaking his elbow.

Mikel had enjoyed a consistent season with his club and played a massive role in their title and cup success before a knee injury sustained in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Bolton in April.

However the Nigerian was in obvious pain despite knee surgery and had been on crutches until mid-May, and it was confirmed this morning he will take no part in what would have been his first World Cup finals appearance.

Click here.

[Vincent 402]

Nigeria have suffered a blow less than a week away from the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ with star midfielder John Obi Mikel having been left out of the squad because he did not want to aggravate a knee injury. The 23-year-old Chelsea star, who follows club team-mates Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and possibly Didier Drogba in missing out on the finals because of injury - is likely to be replaced by one of the seven players dropped from the squad at their training camp in England last Monday.

We have dropped Mikel from the World Cup squad after he told the team he did not want to put his career at risk. Emmanuel Attah, Nigeria team official

"We have dropped Mikel from the World Cup squad after he told the team he did not want to put his career at risk as his knee injury has yet to fully heal after a recent surgery," disclosed top team official Emmanuel Attah. Mikel, capped over 30 times by his country, had been a huge doubt for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ as he last played for Chelsea in April.

Mikel was the last player to join up with the rest of the squad at their training camp in Essex, England, last week and in South Africa, he cut short his workout with the team on two consecutive days. He did not play in the team's two build-up games against Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside two-time world champions Argentina, UEFA EURO 2004 winners Greece and 2002 FIFA World Cup™ semi-finalists South Korea. They play their first match on 12 June against Argentina.

[Badboy 1,526]

Players are dropping like dead flies.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Its incredible. Gutted for him as it would have been his first World Cup.

[Vincent 402]

Good choice from such a youngster to make that decision. You would say that people on that age do whatever they can to play at the WC. Obviously good news that he puts his future in front of the WC. But obviously bad news for him, i wish him the best recovering.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Vincent

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Nigeria dropped a bollock by selecting him anyway, his recovery from surgery had been visibly slow.

[Vincent 402]

Nigeria dropped a bollock by selecting him anyway, his recovery from surgery had been visibly slow.

Agree but all countries would do the same if their star player even looks 'a bit' recovered from a surgery/injury.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Vincent

[Alee. 182]

Drogba, Essien, Mikel out. Feel sad for out African contingent.

[chivas 1]

It's pitty... GL, John

[Kez 2,727]

Wow our players really are dropping like flies.

[Blueboy 14]

Well, i actualy, as a Chelsea-fan, don't have such a big problem with it, they will be fit when our season starts. It's a common problem that players come back injured after a few international games. I do find it sad for the players though

[Shane 2,275]

Its his own choice though, He didn't want to go.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Which is good for him and underlines his maturity as a footballer.

[kakuta44 16]

Which is good for him and underlines his maturity as a footballer.

yeah right .... very mature ...... but let me ask you can you imagine rooney or terry doing the same .... well i think in this case we will have to say rooney and terry are not mature enough .....

as a matter of fact if this underlines anything so it just underlines why i hate this guy ..... no determination no ambition and a very lazy player .....

Edited June 5, 2010 by kakuta44

[LDN Blue 7,903]

yeah right .... very mature ...... but let me ask you can you imagine rooney or terry doing the same .... well i think in this case we will have to say rooney and terry are not mature enough .....

as a matter of fact if this underlines anything so it just underlines why i hate this guy ..... no determination no ambition and a very lazy player .....

I think that's a bit harsh. Would you rather have him make his injury worse so he misses a whole Season for Chelsea?

[Manuf 1,448]

yeah right .... very mature ...... but let me ask you can you imagine rooney or terry doing the same .... well i think in this case we will have to say rooney and terry are not mature enough .....

as a matter of fact if this underlines anything so it just underlines why i hate this guy ..... no determination no ambition and a very lazy player .....

Sure, he should go, just like Essien to ACN. I mean we are linked to Yaya Toure so he can miss a season or two, right?

[Milan 17,854]

Again gutted for him, as I'm gutted for every player who is forced to miss the WC. But what he has said is fantastic, respect for that.

Edited June 5, 2010 by milan.cech

[Steve 10,227]

yeah right .... very mature ...... but let me ask you can you imagine rooney or terry doing the same .... well i think in this case we will have to say rooney and terry are not mature enough .....

as a matter of fact if this underlines anything so it just underlines why i hate this guy ..... no determination no ambition and a very lazy player .....

Thats fucking crap. Have you ever had an injury yourself? Have you ever had to experience an operation first hand? By the sounds of it you have not.

Im still recovering from a Knee reconstruction. I lost everything i was going for. I had my first trial with a professional team here in Australia, then a week later i did my knee. I had my opportunity to go for it when i recovered but i would of been pushing myself but instead i declined and focused on my health. At the end of the day hes still human and football is just a job . As long as he can walk and be healthy is the main priority.