Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba's participation in the World Cup is in serious doubt after he suffered a suspected fractured elbow. The Chelsea striker, 32, picked up the injury 16 minutes into his side's 2-0 friendly win over Japan after clashing with defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka. But coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said there was still a chance the talismanic Drogba could feature in South Africa. "We are not sure yet, we think it's still a possibility," he said. "It's an elbow injury. How bad it is, I don't know. He had a lot of pain. Of course I'm worried. He's captain and one of the world's best players." Ivory Coast kick off their World Cup campaign against Portugal on 15 June. A team spokesman said: "It's a fracture in his arm. The doctor hasn't said yet whether he can play in the World Cup." Drogba, the Premier League's top goalscorer last season, helped open the scoring with a 13th-minute deflected free-kick and Ivory Coast went on to win the game 2-0 with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure also scoring. Drogba, who has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances for his country, is key to Ivory Coast's hopes in South Africa and Eriksson will anxiously await news of his injury. But the former England boss said he did not blame Tanaka for the incident. "It was unlucky. It wasn't bad or stupid. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Football is a game of contact," added Eriksson. Ivory Coast face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in their World Cup group. Drogba is an enormous star in his native Ivory Coast and across the whole continent of Africa, and his possible absence would be a significant blow to the tournament. Source: BBC