Ledley King is one of those players that has been gifted to have been given more than enough talent and potential, but is plagued by a string of injuries that have meant he will never be able to fulfill his football dreams.

King has spoken this morning about his dream to make England’s World Cup squad for the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Although this may be a fairy tale story it is unlikely he will get anywhere near the squad by the time it is announced.

Two or three years back he was playing regularly for Spurs and was a fixture in the international side. His performances whenever he was handed the captain’s armband in a pressure situation were admirable and he genuinely looked like he could reach the levels of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry on a constant basis and make them sweat over their place in the side.

The problem is because of his health and bad run of injuries, his good runs were always temporarily halted, cancelling out any progression he had made and meaning this was just another case of a player taking one step forward and two steps back.

He said: “It’s a difficult situation, my priority first and foremost is always Spurs – with the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign going so well, there is a real opportunity to do something great on the international stage again.”

“Every player wants to play as much as possible, but I’ve long accepted the fact that it is not a privilege I have.”

The problem for King is that in all the time he has spent laying on the treatment table, someone else has stepped in and got ahead of him in the pecking order. In terms of the number of international matches between now and when the World Cup squad is announced, King realistically only has a small amount of time to make any impact.

This first means get his place back in the Spurs side, which has now been established since Harry Redknapp stepped in and took up the managerial position. He needs to do this quickly and have a good pre-season ahead of the next campaign to make sure he is starting when the first whistle is blown.

It is not all doom and gloom for King though and if things go his way he could have a good shot and replacing someone if they pick up a bad injury or fall away from the form that England boss, Fabio Capello, has now come to expect.

His first and main priority should be Spurs. When he is fit he personifies everything that Tottenham are about, the passion, the enthusiasm and the aggression. If he is a regular in the Spurs side at the start of the season then he has some hope. If he is playing well and gets the nod just after the turn of the new year then the dream may come true.

The problem is though that the odds are stacked well against him. For Ledley King to make the 2010 World Cup squad then he’ll have to do something very special.

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