In a star-studded World Cup, some of the biggest stars are falling like flies. England captain Rio Ferdinand, Ivory Coast start Didier Drogba, Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo and Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar all suffered injuries, with Ferdinand to miss the tournament and Drogba likely to as well.

Ferdinand was ruled out of the World Cup today by the FA after sustaining ligament damage in his left knee during the Three Lions’ first full practice in South Africa.

The 31-year-old Manchester United center back was to lead England against the United States on June 12, but the United States’ daunting Group C opener just got a little easier. American striker Jozy Altidore is day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

“It is obviously bad news and everyone with the squad is very disappointed and sorry for Rio,” England coach Fabio Capello said. “It was an accidental injury in training, but had nothing to do with the pitch.”

Tests showed Ferdinand will miss 4-6 weeks, with Tottenham’s Michael Dawson replacing him on the roster, Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard replacing him as captain, and either Matthew Upson or Ledley King likely to replace him in the lineup. England was already without the world’s most recognizable soccer star, L.A. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, due to a torn Achilles.

Though Ferdinand’s injury is a blow to Britain, Drogba’s is a blow to an entire continent. No African team has ever won the World Cup, and with the tourney in South Africa there was hope this could be the summer for a breakthrough. But with Ghana’s Michael Essien already out and Samuel Eto’o threatening to walk out on Cameroon, the continent could lose its three biggest stars.

Drogba broke his right arm in today’s 2-0 tuneup win over Japan, and told teammate Kolo Toure that he’ll miss the World Cup.

“For him, he said, the World Cup is finished,” Toure was quoted as saying. “We can just see on his face that he was sad, and when he is like that you can’t ask more. It is difficult for us because he is such a really important player.”

The 32-year-old Drogba is an irreplaceable combination of power and pace, with 29 goals this season to help Chelsea break Manchester United’s three-year stranglehold on the Premier League title.

He is expected to have an emergency surgery, and Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said they haven’t officially ruled him out yet, but the odds are highly unlikely that he’ll play. They could switch from a 4-3-3 back to Eriksson’s preferred 4-4-2, but they won’t be able to replace Drogba as a singular talent.

Pirlo is resting at home following a calf injury suffered in the Azzurri’s loss to Mexico. The AC Milan midfielder is the heart of Italy’s entire offense, and was the man of the match in the 2006 World Cup final win.

He’s expected to miss their opener, but may be able to play in their next two Group games. That’s key because Italy are notorious slow starters.

Brazil drilled Zimbabwe 3-0 on Wednesday, with Cesar coming off as a precaution. He isn’t expected to miss any World Cup games.