For some, the end of Rio Ferdinand’s World Cup also sent a blast across the bows of English hopes of winning the trophy. One of the squads truly great players being forced out simply weakens the side is the consensus, but me I’m not so disillusioned by the news. Yes it’s a blow and I feel dreadfully sorry for Ferdinand, but thankfully, England have something as good as to fall back on. Ledley King.

None of the waling from this England fan, no panic, no fear, no lack of conviction because I have the pleasure of watching King on a regular basis. He is my favourite Tottenham player in recent memory, a product of the Tottenham Hotspur youth system, a footballing diamond. Don’t give me the nonsense about his knee. King on one leg is better than most central defenders in Europe. Capello knows this, it’s why he’s wanted him as part of the squad since he took over as England manager. He knows how good Ledley King is and he knows he makes England stronger.

King is a freak of nature, the likes of which I’ve only ever come across once before in the form of the Irish colossus, Paul McGrath. Yet what a player he is, comfortable on the ball, strong in the air, dangerous at set pieces. Like McGrath before him, chronic knee problems curtail his training to a bare minimum. Yet there is, playing at the back for Spurs, slotting seamlessly back in. The club have had to tailor the tactics to suit him, fit the team around him, when his knee allows it, he plays. In a World Cup competition, the break between games gives him ample recovery time.

Yet, for all Kings problems, he looks after himself far better off the pitch than McGrath did. If I could ever recommend a book about football, Paul McGrath’s autobiography would be it. It’s frightening he was able to play with damaged knees, never mind as a chronic alcoholic as well. King, Carling Cup winning celebrations apart, tends to keep himself in good condition. He has to, he needs to, his body can’t be allowed to slip away from the conditioning he uses in his training.

People forget back in Euro 2004, King came in for the injured John Terry for his competitive England debut against France and was immense. He then played as a substitute in midfield against Croatia and calmed the team down.  He was a shoe in for the 2006 World Cup until a metatasal injury ruled him out of the tournament. Then his injury problems began and here we are 4 years later facing the fact that King will be playing.

With only 68 league appearances since 2006, it is nothing short of amazing that he is here, ready to put his body on the line for his country when it needs him. Do not underestimate Ledley King or suspect him to be a weak spot in the English defence. He only needs to play against USA and Algeria and help England try and gain maximum points. 6 points there will be enough to see him rested against Slovakia and saved for the second round game. The way the tournament has fallen, he could effectively play one game every 5 or 6 days, just enough recovery time and play every match bar the 3rd group game.

Yet, in Tottenham’s final 3 matches, he started all 3 in 8 days. The first time he had done so in nearly 3 years and that alone stands as a testament to the man. No training, no tactical practice, he simply keeps fit and plays, it’s an astounding achievement.England have only lost one competitive game when he’s played out of 12 and he can partner John Terry without breaking a sweat. That kind of record speaks for itself, great players can slot in as when required and there is no doubt that King is indeed a great player.

John Terry injured his right foot in training today and has gone to the hospital for a precautionary scan, reveals the Chelsea website. The seriousness of the injury will be known tomorrow when results are released, but the news will be very worrying for Chelsea and England supporters who will be hoping that Terry mends in time.

While fans of the US men’s national team may be excited at the possibility of Terry missing the all-important June 12th World Cup match against England, the news may be a blessing in disguise for England supporters. I’ll admit that Terry has been strong in the last few games for Chelsea, but this has been one of the most inconsistent seasons the former England captain has had.

If Terry does miss the World Cup, it’ll be a perfect opportunity for Ledley King or Michael Dawson to step in to Terry’s shoes alongside Rio Ferdinand, if fit. If Ferdinand isn’t one hundred percent fit, then you could see King and Dawson combining as centre halves for England just as they’ve done so well for Tottenham this season. Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher and Matthew Upson would provide adequate back-ups for King and Dawson if either of them are unfit or not playing up to their potential.

What do you think? Is John Terry’s injury a blessing in disguise, or a massive blow if it turns out he’ll miss the World Cup? Share your opinion in the comments section below.

UPDATE: False alarm. The scan of John Terry’s right foot has been completed and it shows that there is no break. Terry hopes to be OK to play in Sunday’s FA Cup Final.

Well it’s not been the best season for either of England’s first choice centre halves so far. Enough has been written about John Terry’s problems and Rio Ferdinand’s chronic back injury to have caused meltdown on Google through searching for both issues. Thankfully, Terry’s form seems to be picking up again and Manchester United seem to have cured Ferdinand through a calming spell of rehabilitation.

The issue for England would seem to be cover for both players with several high profile replacements injured, retired or bang out of form. Capello has already shown that he rates Matthew Upson, and for all his Premier League problems, Upson is clearly the first choice as a back up centre half for the Italian. He’s been dependable and reliable for England when called upon though and is clearly on the plane to South Africa.

The only question mark would be West Ham United’s struggle in the relegation battle they currently find themselves in. Could relegation leave a hangover that could affect him? It will be interesting to see, but Upson should be strong enough to deal with whatever happens to West Ham. After that though, it becomes a bit of a lottery with a major question mark over another player Capello clearly rates, Ledley King.

What can be said about Ledley King, he simply defies science and common sense. King has been suffering for 4 seasons with a chronic knee injury that he picked up in pre-season training back in 2006. Now with no cartilage in his left knee, it is simply bone grinding on bone every time he plays, King has to have at least 5 days rest to recover. The problem is that fluid builds up in the knee, swelling it up after any vigorous exercise but it’s incurable.

For a player in this day and age to be able still perform without any real training week to week is astounding. Harry Redknapp rightly calls him a freak for being able to still continue at the top level and this will probably be his last major tournament for England. Even at 29, the toil of the injury will surely bring an end to the career of surely one of English football’s brightest talents far too early. Fully fit, it wouldn’t have surprised me if King had become a regular starter for his country. Unfortunately, we will never know.

Of the other two outstanding centre halves of this generation, one is seemingly more injury ravaged than King and the other retired after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren. Jonathan Woodgate must have run over several black cats in his career, which like Kings, promised so much but has petered out in to a continual battle to even make it on a treatment table, never mind a pitch. When fit, Woodgate was a superb ball playing defender who could score a couple now and again. Time is certainly against him and he has no chance of being fit for the World Cup and maybe even the beginning of next season.

Jamie Carragher has stuck to his decision made back in July 2007 after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren and no amount of pleading has seen him make himself available for selection. I kind of understand why he’d had enough, but hells bells, World Cups don’t just grown on trees. Yet, regardless of that, Carragher along with Wayne Bridge seem certain to stick to their principles. It’s a shame and Carragher is certainly deserving of more caps than he won.

Of the remaining contenders, Joleon Lescott has had a terrible season by the standards he set whilst at Everton. Injuries and criticism over the way he handled his £23 million move to Manchester City have certainly seemed to weigh on Lescott’s mind this season. Of course, his career at City along with his relationship with Kolo Toure is still in it’s infancy and it should settle down eventually, question is, will it settle down in time for the World Cup?

Phil Jagielka is another high profile candidate only recently returning to playing after a 9 month lay off through injury. He’s certainly impressed since joining Everton in the summer of 2007, but it could be a little too soon for him. He’s another that has impressed with the chances available to him at international level and looks set to be involved with the England set up in the European Championship qualifying rounds when they begin in September 2010.

The outstanding English centre half who is not an England regular for me this season has been Michael Dawson. It’s ironic that if King and Woodgate were fit, Dawson wouldn’t be playing, never mind captaining the side in King’s absence. In fact over the last 18 months, Dawson has come on leaps and bounds and has been playing excellently all of this season. Strong in the air, reliable and passionate, Dawson in my opinion, clearly deserves to go to the World Cup.

I was amazed when Ryan Shawcross was called up but Dawson overlooked once again, because he’s simply a better player at the current time. I doubt Capello picked the Stoke defender to deflect the criticism over the Ramsey challenge, but it was still a surprise. A pointless one in the end as he didn’t even get on the pitch, but the experience will have stood him in good stead. Shawcross is definitely one for the future though, along with Jagielka.

So for me, the final choice comes down to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as first choice centre halves,  Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson and Ledley King, dodgy knee as well to make up 5, taking my squad to 12 players so far. King, despite the knee issue, offers cover in both central defence and midfield and deserves his last chance after cruelly missing out in 2006. So who would you choose?

With the season starting slightly earlier this year due to the World Cup, most teams in the Premiership have played 8 league games already. Last season, the 8th round of matches was played two weeks later, on the weekend of October 18th/19th. By the end of it, Tottenham were staring up at every other team in the league with a lowly 2 points. A 2-1 loss against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium had left Spurs trailing Newcastle by 4 points and Stoke and Fulham by 5.

A club in disarray, the fans in despair, the players lacking leadership on or off the pitch, things were not looking good. Not since 1988* had Tottenham propped up the table, ironically on Halloween. That season was to shadow a remarkable turn around in events at White Hart Lane as the week continued to get worse as Udinese beat Spurs on the Thursday 2-0 with a implosion in the last 15 minutes. Juande Ramos cut a depressed figure on the touchline in Udine, a man completely at a loss to explain what was happening or it seemed able to arrest the decline.

Daniel Levy’s reign as chairman had seen plenty of ups and downs during the course of the 7 years that had led to this point. Ramos was supposed to be the marquee managerial signing to move Spurs onwards from the work of the underrated and under appreciated Martin Jol. It was fast becoming a disaster of epic proportions as the club lurched from crisis to crisis. After 5 managers in that time, Levy was under enormous pressure to finally deliver, yet here they were, bottom of the league, winless, shapeless and facing relegation.

After the defeat in Italy, Ramos made the usual “We can play our way out of trouble” statements, but they rang hollow in the ears of the Spurs fans. Other than a well deserved point at Stamford Bridge, there had been nothing to cling to in the way of optimism. No-one else could see where the win was going to come from, the team looked beyond help. On Saturday, October 25th as the fans prepared for another inevitable defeat the next day against Bolton, things couldn’t get much worse.

As Match of the Day finished, I flicked over to Sky Sports News, just to see if perhaps anything at all had happened. As the image flicked on, the newsfeed at the bottom of the screen suddenly went in to to overdrive. “Tottenham have sacked Juande Ramos, Gus Poyet and Daniel Comolli with immediate effect…..Harry Redknapp has been confirmed as the new manager of Spurs …. Discussion with Redknapp next on Sky Sports News.” Then the adverts kicked in. Damn it!

I’d had a drink, who wouldn’t when you’re team was bottom of the league and playing like Worksop Town. I rewound the pictures and watched it again. Yep, still said the same. I shot to the PC, went on the BBC football site. It was the top story, Breaking News. The I checked the Guardian, yep, same there. It was true. I ran to the bedroom and woke my better half up, she told me to stop winding her up. I insisted it was true, and probably to simply placate me, she got up and went downstairs with me to see for herself.

Chelsea fans don’t believe a lot, though living with a Spurs fan means you get used to false dawns on a seasonal basis. Sitting down, SSN burst in to life once more, BOOOOOOOOOM went the special effects, WHOOOOOOOOOOSH went the graphics and then it was confirmed by the presenters clearly excited that people would actually be watching for once late on a Saturday night. Redknapp was indeed the new manager of Spurs. I let out a hearty cheer! My other half wasn’t impressed at all, ” Oh no, I’ve always really liked Harry. What has he done that for!” Time for another drink I decided, my despair transformed in minutes to optimism! Ah the joy’s of football eh!

As managerial announcements go, for me, its quite possibly one of the oddest I’ve ever come across, late on a Saturday night, less than 24 hours before a team is due to play a match. I bet every newspaper editor was cursing Levy throughout the United Kingdom. Yet, in the 38 League games Redknapp has managed Spurs in now, his record reads Played 38, Won 19, Drawn 8 Lost 11.With this season’s excellent start, Redknapp has assured that for the first time in 4 seasons, Spurs are not playing catch up after a slow start. 16 points from 8 games is Tottenham’s best ever start to a Premiership season.

No Spurs fan thinks that we’ll win the League, or finish in the top 4, but after the year of hell that was the Ramos era, it’s a whole lot better. The oddity of Ramos’ tenure, Spurs won the League Cup, their first trophy in 9 seasons and a 5-1 victory against Arsenal, yet it will always be viewed as a dreadful year.  Two shots of sunlight do not make a summer, but at least Harry’s got Spurs fans smiling again.

There is still plenty of work to do at Tottenham, the centre half issue needs resolving due the injuries King and Woodgate now have. The midfield have to learn to be able to play without Modric against big teams and not let Palacios do all the running, Keane needs to keep performing as he did against Burnley and Hull City. Defoe needs keep running and not get downhearted and the players outside the first 11 need to knuckle down and try and force themselves into Redknapps plans rather than whining to the media. Then maybe a top six place wouldn’t be out of the question, anything else would be a bonus.

*Spurs became the first team to be bottom of the First Division on Halloween in 1988 and not be relegated, actually finishing 6th as Gascoigne and Waddle combined to drag them up the table. The following season saw Spurs finish 3rd with Lineker joining the team as Waddle went to Marseille.

The sight of Ledley King pulling up when Didier Drogba was running towards the Tottenham goal in Sunday’s London derby left me with a resigned feeling of deja vu. Even on one leg, a training regime of swimming twice a week and the frailties of the midfield formation that wasn’t working, King was keeping Drogba quiet. That was the key turning point of the match for me, regardless of the legitimacy of the penalty claim.

Since King fractured his metatarsal in a Premier League back in April 2006, missing the World Cup, he has had no luck with injuries at all. Yet it’s nothing new, in the 9 seasons since he became a first team mainstay, King has played in over 30 league games in only two seasons, 2001-02 and 2004-05. Tottenham fans still regard him as one of the best of the last 20 years to play at the Lane and his staus as club captain from 2005 to 2009 recognises his contribution, on and off the field of play.

The chronic knee injury which now plagues him was caused ironically, in a training ground clash during the summer of 2006. Since then King has managed to play in only 52 League games from a possible 120 matches. It seems a cruel twist of fate that King could have been a consistently recognised player for his country, as the spat between Capello and Redknapp earlier this year showed.

As much as his injury problems have affected his playing career, Capello rightly recognises King as one of England’s best 3 centre halves and a fantastic defensive midfielder at both club and international level. What makes King’s continued appearances more astounding is the fact that his knee is inoperable. His problem is he has no cartilage in the affected knee, so he plays games with bone rubbing on bone.

At 28, it’s an incredible risk to put himself through so much on a weekly basis simply to play football. Why does he do it? After each game the knee swells up, making it impossible for him to play more than once every 6 or 7 days. The stress that must be putting on his body must be incredible. The trouble is, because he now can’t train, other area’s of his body are beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The injury to his right hamstring on Sunday seemed to just happen. He wasn’t in full flow, he wasn’t stretching, it simply went on him.

I can honestly say that King is one of my favorite players and one of the best centre halves that we’ve had at Tottenham since I actually knew anything about the game. Yes, I still rate Campbell and yet King perhaps harks back to early time in what drives him to keep going. I see so much of Gary Mabbutt’s attitude in the way King puts his health on the line for the shirt, the fans and the club.I find it astounding, I really do that he cares enough to keep going like he does.

Mabbutt, if you were unaware, is a diabetic and had to inject himself four times a day, check his blood sugar levels before, during and after games and always keep his insulin kit with him at all times. To think he played over 600 professional matches and appeared 16 times for England gives you some idea of the spirit that drove Mabbutt onward.Despite being diagnosed at 17, he continued to play, train and work diabetes in to his football routine and got to the top level of his sport regardless of how easy it could have been to give up.

Whilst King’s condition is nowhere near as serious, it gives some idea of the mental strength that he must summon every time he steps out on a pitch for Spurs. I just hope that he can keep going without causing himself permanent injury in later life. At the end of the day, it’s only football and Ledley already has a place in the hearts of the Tottenham faithful.

Too often, players will often blame off field problems for a lack of discipline, form or fitness, it becoming something of a Teflon shield to protect them from criticism off fans and players. It’s a catch all term to cover all kinds of issues, from drinking (Too numerous to mention) , drugs (Adrian Mutu) , gambling addiction (Michael Owen) to having a persecution complex even though you do yourself no favours at all (Joey Barton).

Yet, one player over recent months has put all this “off field problems” scenario in perspective, Tottenhams Wilson Palacios. Here is a man that for the last 18 months has played with enormous pressure over himself and his family every day, since his younger brother, Edwin, was kidnapped in October 2007 from the Palacios family home. Palacios has been a man in such rich form for both Wigan and Tottenham it would be hard to think anything was wrong with the likeable Honduran.  A ransom of $500,000 dollars was paid as requested by the kidnappers but Edwin has never been seen again. Honduran Police were given details of a grave in the North of the country and uncovered a grave which they believe has the remains of Edwin Palacios.

Yet, even when he found out, Palacios still wasn’t one for histrionics. He received the news at 1am at the team hotel before Spurs’ game against Everton and instead of immediately notifying his team mates or manager, he packed his bags and calmly waited for Redknapp to get up a 7am. Apparently, according to Redknapp, he didn’t want to trouble him with a “personal matter” and was astounded.

“The lad had heard from his family at one in the morning what had happened, and his brothers, I believe, have identified the body,” he said.”He sat around the hotel lobby with his case packed until 7am because he didn’t want to wake me.”I’m amazed with him. But we organised for him to be driven back to London so he could get a flight home.”

Palacios has been given compassionate leave and will not play for Tottenham again this season, but football is a triviality in such matters. Compare that scenario with Tottenhams club captain, Ledley King, a hero to the White Hart Lane faithful and well known for not being able to train or play in midweek due to a knee issue that has blighted him since 2006.

Spurs fans will now be surprised to discover that King’s knee may not be up to training, but it’s certainly able to carry him drunkenly around London in the early hours of Sunday Morning and even that it can stand up to having a scuffle with a doorman of a celebrity nightclub. Fans that have sent him support as he tries to battle his chronic injury that blights him now have to take stock of the situation. Club captain decides that getting legless can have no impact on his fitness at all? Really? What a stupid man.

Is King so desperate to go out with his hangers on that he doesn’t give a monkeys if he drunkenly falls over, damages his knee and rules himself out? Is he so selfish that he can’t cope without alcohol? Here’s a man that most Spurs fans would run through a wall for and this is how he treats them. What a prat. He’s apologised, but it’s an empty gesture, especially when compared with Palacios’ behaviour and strength of character. King needs to take a long hard look at his team mate and get a grip on reality and get his priorities in order.

Palacios has shown courage, determination and strength throughout his families ordeal. Remember that next time Joey Barton whines about people calling him names or a footballer can’t cope without getting drunk on a Saturday night.

We thought it’d be fun to pick our all-star injury football team featuring those Premier League players that always seem to be injured. Thanks to the EPL Talk readers who participated in last weekend’s EPL Talk Chat for the idea.

1. Chris Kirkland
2. Gary Neville
3. Mikael Silvestre
4. Jonathan Woodgate
5. Ledley King
6. Owen Hargreaves
7. Kieron Dyer
8. Tim Cahill
9. Craig Bellamy
10. Michael Owen
11. Louis Saha

Subs:
Andy Johnson
Mark Viduka
Valeri Bojinov
Emile Heskey
Didier Drogba

What current players are missing that should be featured in this squad? Click the comments link below and let us know.