Chelsea's World Cup curse has struck again with the news that John Obi Mikel will miss the finals with a knee injury.
The midfielder has been struggling to shake off the problem in recent weeks after undergoing surgery, and has now informed the country's football authorities that he won't risk further aggravating the injury.
"We have dropped Mikel from the World Cup 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," team co-ordinator, Emmanuel Attah said.
Mikel is the fourth player from the Premier League champions to see his World Cup dreams shattered, following tournament-ending blows to Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and, in all likelihood, Didier Drogba who sustained a broken arm while playing for the Ivory Coast against Japan on Friday.