Several teams are scrambling to plug holes after stars have come down with late injuries.

Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba

Elephants' captain Drogba broke his arm in a warm-up friendly with Japan on Friday, and immediately underwent surgery. Of the recent spate of injured players, Drogba means the most to his team. The suits and stethoscopes say that Drogba may recover in time to play a part in this tournament, but by the time Drogba is healthy, the team may be eliminated.

Drogba's Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou is a world-class striker in his own right, but the Elephants will now have to start the brilliant but inconsistent Arouna Dindane up front with him, leaving the bench perilously thin. Yaya Toure can move up from the midfield if Dindane and Kalou need reinforcement or replacement.

Holland: Arjen Robben

Robben picked up a hamstring injury in a game against Hungary. His status, like Drogba's is in doubt—but Holland can progress to the knockouts without him. An MRI on Sunday or Monday should tell us more. If it comes back as "2-4 weeks", expect Robben to be kept in the side to play in the tournament's later stages.

Holland have looked great in the build up. No Robben could mean the Dutch revert to a classic 4-4-2. While the player will be missed, Holland are loaded in midfield and attack.

England: Rio Ferdinand

Captain Rio Ferdinand is out of the tournament with a knee injury. It looks like Ledley King will deputise at centre-back. It's a huge blow to the team who has started to fancy its chances. This England team is not deep at either fullback or goalkeeper, and the loss of Ferdinand will only make matters more wobbly.

England seems particularly vulnerable now to teams who keep the ball and players who make strong runs. Still the class of the group, avoiding Germany in the round-of-16 is now even more crucial. England were a soft team to start with and Ferdinand's departure only makes it worse.

Italy: Andrea Pirlo

Pirlo suffered a calf strain on Wednesday and hopes to return for Italy's second game against New Zealand on June 20. The New Zealand game would be the perfect run-out for the dead ball specialist as Italy should dominate easily. If Pirlo can't go against New Zealand, he'll play limited minutes in the final group game, if possible, to set up a full-fledged return when the knockouts begin.

Ricardo Montolivo should see time in Pirlo's absence, especially if Mauro Camoranesi misses a game with his knee sprain. Daniele de Rossi and Gennaro Gattuso will be expected to play 90 minutes every time out.