Rio Ferdinand not blaming Emile Heskey for injury that ended World Cup dream
Rio Ferdinand(credit:
Wikipedia)
Rio Ferdinand insists England team-mate Emile Heskey should not be blamed for the injury that ruled the defender out of the World Cup.
Ferdinand damaged knee ligaments in a tackle with the burly Aston Villa frontman during England’s first training session on South African soil.
But the Manchester United star insists it was “complete freak, an accident.”
Ferdinand explained: “The ball came in from one of the lads to Emile and I’d gone to try and tackle him from behind. He didn’t actually see me coming – we both went off balance and Emile’s weight went down on my knee.
“It’s no fault of his at all. It’s just a freak accident that could happen at any given time and it had no connection to any previous injuries I’ve had.”
The 31-year-old went on to insist he has come to terms with missing out on the tournament.
“The first night was quite a pretty long night, going over what could’ve been and to not be able to represent you country in the World Cup,” Ferdinand continued.
“But after that I’ve thought to myself I’ve got to get on with it. There’s a lot more people worse off than I am.
“I’m not dying and it’s not like I’ll never be able to play football again. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back, do some good rehab and I’ll be fit and that’s what I’m concentrating on now.”
England can be backed at 8/1 with Victor Chandler, Paddy Power and StanJames to win the World Cup.
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