World Cup: England’s Rio Ferdinand is out after injuring his knee

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The World Cup’s list of casualties added another big name Friday when England captain Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of the tournament after injuring his knee during the team’s first full training session in South Africa. Ferdinand, who would almost certainly have been a starter against the U.S. in the teams’ opening game on June 12, has been sidelined from four to six weeks after the training ground clash with forward Emile Heskey. England Coach Fabio Capello has called upon Tottenham Hotspurs defender Michael Dawson to replace the Manchester United player in his 23-man roster and has named Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard as the new captain. Ferdinand, 31, is the latest in a series of players to have their World Cup hopes dashed. The list includes Germany’s Michael Ballack, and on Friday the Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba also was sidelined, probably for the entire tournament. Here’s an L.A. Times story on the other injuries

-- Grahame L. Jones