Breaking: ESPN’s Martin Tyler out of World Cup with Voice Strain

David Beckham, injured

Actually the soothing British tones of the ESPN (and EA Sport’s Fifa 2010) announcer will be present during the World Cup broadcast in 3 days. As for the other names you may have been excited to see, well it’s not looking good.

The injury bug has plagued many countries’ preparations for South Africa, and a slew of the world’s biggest names will join the vuvuzelas in the stands instead of their teammates on the field. Unfortunately, this means the story of the finals 3 days before the opener is the players that will not contribute to the quest for world cup glory. Joining the casualties most recently is Portugal’s Nani, who injured his collar bone during training on Friday. As for clubs watching their investments collapse into anguished heaps, Chelsea takes the cake as the hardest hit with nearly half their starting squad picking up injuries before the tournament starts.

For those keeping score, the following players will not appear:

Rio Ferdinand (England)
David Beckham (England)
John Obi Mikel (Nigeria)
Charlie Davies (USA)
Michael Essien (Ghana)
Jose Boswinga (Portugal)
Nani (Portugal)
Michael Ballack (Germany)
Ronaldinho (Brazil, not chosen)
Javier Zanneti (Argentina, not chosen)
Lassana Diarra (France, not chosen)

And these players may or may not appear, but certainly will not be 100%:

Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Oguchi Onyewu (USA)
Jozy Altidore (USA)
Humberto Suazo (Chile)

Here’s to hoping this list will not grow in the next couple days.