Didier Drogba has been left out of the starting lineup for Ivory Coast's World Cup opener against Portugal.
FIFA cleared him to play with a cast on the arm he broke in a warmup match against Japan on June 4, but coach Sven-Goran Eriksson decided not to risk the Chelsea striker at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Aruna Dindane, Ivory Coast's leading scorer at the 2006 World Cup with two of its five goals, started up front alongside Gervinho.
Drogba warmed up on the field with the rest of the squad, indicating that he may play a role as a substitute.
The cast could not be seen under Drogba's bright orange training shirt.
Portugal lined up with a three-man attack of Cristiano Ronaldo, Danny and Liedson.
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Lineups:
Ivory Coast: Boubacar Barry, Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora, Salomon Kalou, Cheick Tiote, Gervinho, Aruna Dindane, Siaka Tiene, Yaya Toure, Guy-Roland Demel, Emmanuel Eboue.
Portugal: Eduardo, Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pedro Mendes, Liedson, Danny, Raul Meireles, Deco, Fabio Coentrao.
