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It wasn't enough that Costa Rica was placed in a group with soccer powers Uruguay, Italy and England -- the Ticos will now have to do it without one of their best players.
Striker Alvaro Saborio, who plays his club ball for Real Salt Lake of the MLS, will miss three-to-four months after breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot.
"After analyzing the doctors' opinion and talking with the player, we have to face the reality," Costa Rica head coach Jorge Luis Pinto said. "Álvaro will not play at the World Cup. We hope he recovers on time to travel with us to Brazil. It really hurts, because he's an extraordinary man."
This would have been the second World Cup for Saborio, who made two appearances at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He led Costa Rica in qualifying with eight goals, helping them finish second in the CONCACAF Hexagonal.
Without Saborio, the Ticos will have to rely more heavily on Bryan Ruiz, who scored five goals for PSV after being loaned out by Fulham, and Joel Campbell, who has been on loan from Arsenal for the last three seasons.
Costa Rica opens World Cup play against Luis Suarez (also dealing with an injury) and Uruguay on June 16.
