Road to Recovery

The Chelsea forward was taken off the field with a fracture in his right arm a mere 15 minutes into Ivory Coast's 2-0 win, and is questionable for his country's opening World Cup match, against Portugal on June 15.

Unlike the injury of England's Rio Ferdinand, the loss of Drogba would be a massive blow, not only for Ivory Coast, but also for the game at large.

You want to see the best players compete at the World Cup, and Drogba's potential absence would rob the tournament of one of the sport's biggest stars.

Drogba, 32, is an icon of African soccer, idolized by millions of fans across the continent after twice winning the African footballer of the year award (in 2006 and 2009) and hitting the heights with one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

That one of African's elite players might not be able to play in the first World Cup staged on African soil is a tragedy for fans in Africa.

It would also leave the Ivory Coast national team decimated.

Drogba is also one of the most dangerous goal-scorers in the world, his 29 goals helping Chelsea win the English Premiership title and FA Cup this season.

And while the Ivorians do have some depth at the forward position - Aruna Dindane, Salomon Kalou, Abdul Keita and Gervinho - none of them are in the same class as Drogba.

The Chelsea star is one of the game's elite strikers, equally adept at using his height to score with his head or his quick feet to breeze past defenders before blasting the ball into the net.

He's a game-breaker, he makes things happen and he scores goals - over 40 in 68 appearances for his country.

Could Ivory Coast beat out Portugal for second place in Group G (let's face it, Brazil is a lock to win the group) and secure a spot in the second round without Drogba, their best player?