Manchester United and Portugal winger Luis Nani has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a shoulder injury. Nani hurt his shoulder in Lisbon prior to the squad flying out to South Africa, however at first it seemed like a minor injury and the player would be able to compete in the opening fixture on June 15th against the Ivory Coast. The winger played in eleven qualifying games and was second top goalscorer with three goals. He joins team mate Rio Ferdinand as another major star to miss the World Cup through injury.
A statement for the Portuguese national side read “Following the injury to the left clavicle suffered by Nani, a daily assessment of the damage and the completion of medical tests, we have concluded he is unable to be competitive. The medical file will now be presented to the medical department of Manchester United. In light of the report, the Portuguese Football Federation, taking into account the FIFA regulations for the 2010 World Cup, will call-up Ruben Amorim as a replacement.” Benfica’s Ruben Amorim will replace him in the squad. The Benfica midfielder had been on stand-by since Nani sustained his injury, and will fly out to South Africa today to join up with the squad. Amorim can operate on the right hand side of midfield and has filled in at back before.
Nani was expected to have a decent tournament after an impressive turnaround for Manchester United this season. The winger was expected to be sold in the January transfer window, with United being linked with Angel Di Maria of Benfica, however the Portuguese starlet put in a number of superb performances – including a man of the match performance against Arsenal at the Emirates. He was hoping to help Portugal finished higher than third, which they achieved in 1966 after Eusebio lit up the tournament and finished top scorer.
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