Colombia's Radamel Falcao out for World Cup; ACL recovery falls short

Radamel Falcao's quest to make it back from a torn ACL in time for Colombia's World Cup run has come up short.

Falcao was one of the final cuts from manager Jose Pekerman's provisional World Cup roster, with the Monaco forward unable to prove his fitness before Monday's roster deadline. It was always going to be a stretch for Falcao to make it back in time for the World Cup, considering that he tore his ACL in January, and even if he had been able to play, there's no telling what level of effectiveness he would have had.

Falcao sat beside Pekerman along with Luis Fernando Muriel and Amaranto Perea, two of Colombia's other cuts, as the manager made the announcement.

Falcao, who did not play in Colombia's 2-2 draw with Senegal on Saturday, becomes the highest-profile name to miss out on the World Cup because of injury, joining the likes of Theo Walcott, Christian Benteke, Ricardo Montolivo, Alvaro Saborio, Bryan Oviedo, Luis Montes and Andros Townsend on the sidelines.

After scoring 70 goals in 88 games across all competitions in his two previous seasons with Atletico Madrid, Falcao scored 11 goals in all competitions with Monaco this season prior to his injury, which came on a needless tackle in a French Cup win over fourth-tier Chasselay Monts d’Or Azergues on Jan 22.

The news is an obvious blow for Colombia, which has to face Ivory Coast, Greece and Japan in Group C play. Los Cafeteros still boast the likes of Falcao's Monaco teammate James Rodriguez, Jackson Martinez, Teofilo Gutierrez, Fredy Guarin and Carlos Bacca as the core of a dangerous attacking nucleus.