It was confirmed this morning that first choice goalkeeper for the Ghana national team Joe Wollacott, will miss out on the World Cup due to a finger injury sustained in the warm-up before Charlton Athletic's 3-3 draw at Burton Albion on Saturday.

Heading to the World Cup with the Black Stars would likely have been the pinnacle of the 26-year-old's career, and though it may be possible to qualify for the tournament again in the future, it is not something that Ghana and Wollacott can take for granted.

There has been a lot of talk of Wollacott's World Cup excursion this season, in part due to the Addicks preparing to carry on in League One without him, but also with the pride that the club and supporter base felt to have a representative in the competition.

There are only a handful of players below Championship level in England heading to Qatar, and the opportunity was not lost on Wollacott in building up to the World Cup.

Questions will be asked about whether it was necessary for Wollacott to be involved at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday, with the soul-crushing repercussions of his selection, but the injury should go down as a freak accident and not an incident of which certain individuals can be blamed for.

It is understandable that a player's mindset would change playing in the final game before such a big occasion, potentially performing within themselves due to a conscious or sub-conscious desire to avoid an injury.

It feels likely that there would have been a conversation about mindset between Wollacott and Garner ahead of the trip to Burton and had the desire of the player been to miss the match ahead of the World Cup, then it would have been mutually beneficial for that wish to be granted.

 

 

Therefore, Garner should not take criticism for selecting Wollacott in the squad for the match, at the end of the day, his job is to maximise the points that the Addicks can pick up in League One this season and choosing his first choice goalkeeper is only fitting in with that assignment.

Garner has spoken out on Wollacott's injury, with Richard Cawley tweeting his response to the news this morning.

The fact that the injury was caused in the warm-up and not the match, just goes to show how unlikely and unfortunate the turn of events was, and that taking a step back, it is something that could have happened in training in Qatar ahead of Ghana's opening fixture.

A freak incident of incredibly, untimely bad luck for the 26-year-old, who will be determined to open the World Cup door again in the future.