Ashley Cole injury not as bad as all think

Ashley Cole’s three month spell on the sidelines with injury could end up bring a blessing in disguise for the English national team.

Cole fractured his ankle during Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Everton on Wednesday night and despite the doom and gloom of the news, it could give the full back a chance to rest up before the World Cup.

Predictions suggest that Cole will be fit again around a month before England play their first game in South Africa. Needless to say that the talk of burn out and fatigue will come up at some point in the near future.

If Cole’s rehab goes to plan then he will be back and fit at just the right time for England but not for Chelsea. If Cole trains hard when he gets back and does all of the small things correctly then there is a good chance he will be in the starting eleven on June 22 against the United States.

The only problem, even if Cole gets fit again, is the fact that the Chelsea defender would not have played in a high paced competitive match for three months and probably will not feature in many late games that Chelsea have this season.

England manager, Fabio Capello, said: “It’s very bad news. It is very important that we have a left- sided defender who is good. It’s very important to us that he is back.”

If Cole does not make a full return to fitness in time to play a part for England in South Africa, then the only other option is one, which has emerged as less than perfect.

Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge is the only other player who could do a similar job to Ashley Cole. He plays in the same attacking way as Cole and probably has the edge in terms of being a better defender.

However, Cole would not have a problem playing next to John Terry in the England defence and it has obivously emerged that Bridge playign next to Terry would not be ideal.

So already the headaches have started and even though there is still a long time before England’s first game in South Africa, people are already talking about the World Cup. There is no doubt that England have a much better chance if Cole is fit and raring to go.

In a strange sense, Cole getting injured now is a lot better than Cole getting injured in two months time. There is a glimmer of hope and while there is that glimmer of hope, we should not all do the typically English thing and strart moaning and rubbishing the national team’s chances because of one player getting injured.

Ashley Cole will probably feel a bit lucky and even though this news is obviously bad, Cole will soon feel a determination to pay back on the luck if he does get fit and can play a part in helping England to World domination in June and July.

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