Martinez out of World Cup

Costa Rica’s left back Gilberto Martinez is virtually out of the World Cup, according to coach Alexandre Guimaraes. The player, who dressed for the Central Americans in yesterday’s loss to Germany (2-4) had to leave after 60 minutes when he again had problems with his left knee - which had already sidelined him just prior to the tournament. Guimaraes said it would be extremely difficult for Martinez to recover in less than 10 days, practically ruling him out of the first stage of the tournament. Even after returning he would not be fully fit, and would not have enough time to recover before the end of the World Cup. He will leave for Italy, where he will report back to his club, Brescia, to start his injury recovery.