Drogba sits out training to rest broken arm

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba sat out training on Saturday as a precaution to rest his broken arm ahead of the Elephants opening game against Portugal.

The Ivory Coast face the Portuguese in Port Elizabeth in their opening Group G match on Tuesday, but the Chelsea star faces a race to be fit for the match after breaking his arm in a friendly against Japan in Switzerland on June 4.

He underwent an operation in Berne on June 5.

The Ivory Coast team trained at the George Thabe Stadium here in Sharpeville, south of Johannesburg, under coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, while Drogba stayed back at the hotel to receive treatment.

“Didier is back in the hands of the doctors, but that doesn’t mean anything for the game against Portugal,” a member of the Ivory Coast staff told AFP.

The same source said Eriksson will decide at the last possible moment whether to play the Chelsea striker against Portugal.

Drogba, 32, resumed training on Friday and is following an individual programme with his right arm in a splint.