Babel injury scare threatens World Cup

Ryan Babel will discover today whether his World Cup dreams have been shattered at the last moment.

The Liverpool forward was taken to hospital in Austria last night to undergo a scan on his hamstring he damaged yesterday in Holland's pre-World Cup training camp.

Babel was inconsolable as he was helped into a people carrier by his close friend, Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, and it is understood the Dutch fear the injury is bad.

If Babel - who featured in all bar two of Liverpool's final 23 games - has torn his hamstring, he could be sidelined for anything between six and eight weeks and that would rule him out of the reckoning for Holland's final 23-man squad.

Results of the scans will not be known until some point today but, even if it proves to be a minor strain, Babel will already face a race to be fit for Holland's opening Group E game against Denmark in Johannesburg on June 14.

Should Babel be denied the opportunity to go to the World Cup, it would be the second time injury has cost him the chance to play in a major international tournament.

Back in 2008, the 23-year-old was poised to go to Austria and Switzerland for the European Championships but suffered an ankle problem in the build-up and was forced to stay at home.

While Babel is keeping his fingers crossed that he receives good news, one man who would love to have the opportunity to be involved in a World Cup is Yossi Benayoun.

Despite being capped 78 times by Israel, he has never come close to featuring in a major tournament and Benayoun, who is tipping England to go close in South Africa, fears his dream may never come true.

"I'm not saying this only because I am in England, but I do believe England are the favourites," he said. "They have very good players and I think Capello has got them playing very well.

"I hope I get to play in a major tournament. I just hope I still have time because I will be 34 (by the time of the next World Cup). We were very disappointed this time because we felt the group gave us a good chance to qualify but we didn't play well enough. I will be 32 at the next European Championships, so hopefully I will be able to help Israel qualify for those and then the 2014 World Cup."

Meanwhile, Stuttgart are keeping tabs on Liverpool misfit Albert Riera; the German side are debating whether to make a move for the midfielder, who has been told he has no future at Anfield after breaching club discipline on several occasions.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.