Eriksson: Rio out ... but England can still triumph

The former England manager, now in charge of the Ivory Coast, has his own problems with Didier Drogba undergoing an operation after breaking an arm.

But he is still hopeful his side can set up a potential semi-final with England.

Eriksson said: “If they (England) don’t have more bad luck with injuries they have a chance to go the whole way and I would be happy for them if that happens.

“I think they have a good chance. I hope Rooney will stay fit. I think he is extremely important for England as Drogba is for us.”

When asked would England reach the final of the World Cup, he replied: “Yeah, why not, or the semi-final against the Ivory Coast.”

Eriksson was waiting to hear from a specialist in Switzerland for news on whether Drogba would play any part in the tournament.

On Ferdinand’s injury, he said: “It’s sad news. Rio Ferdinand is one of the best defenders in the world. Bad news for England and bad news for the World Cup.

“But England have a lot of good footballers, especially if you talk about midfielders and defenders.”

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast coach Eriksson is eagerly anticipating his side’s World Cup opener against Portugal and insists “everything is possible”.

The Elephants have been drawn in the most difficult group of all and face Brazil and North Korea as well as Portugal in Group G.

It will be a tough task to progress to the knock-out stages but Eriksson remains confident.

He said: “First of all we have to concentrate as hard as we can on trying to go through the group stage.

“If we can do that everything is possible.

“It’s my third World Cup and I’m really looking forward to it.

"I have a good team going into the World Cup.

"Big challenge, I look forward to it.We are in the most difficult group of all.

“We have a lot of respect for all the teams, but I think the others have a lot of respect for us as well.

“We have a good team and a lot of good football players.”

But their task has been made difficult by the injury to Drogba.