Fulham’s Zamora likely to have surgery next week on injury that kept him out of World Cup

Fulham’s Zamora likely to have surgery next week

HAMBURG — Fulham striker Bobby Zamora expects to have surgery next week on his Achilles’ tendon, an injury that kept him from making England’s provisional World Cup roster.

Zamora helped set up a tying goal in the 37th minute of Wednesday’s Europa League final. He was replaced 10 minutes into the half because of the injury. Fulham lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid.

England coach Fabio Capello said if not for the injury zamora would have been part of the team for the June 11-July 11 tournament. Zamora, Fulham’s leading scorer, has never played for England. His place on the England squad went to Sunderland’s Darren Bent.

“I told Fabio that I was struggling and I knew that, had I gone, I wouldn’t have done myself or England justice,” Zamora said. “It was a joint decision made by myself, Capello, our medical team and England’s medical team. The World Cup’s a massive tournament. It’s not about myself, it’s about England.”

Zamora hopes to be ready for next season.

His exit gave Clint Dempsey the opportunity to become the first American player to appear in a European final, but the U.S. forward struggled to make an impact. Fulham lacked a cutting edge and Atletico won 2-1 in extra time on Diego Forlan’s second goal of the game.

Zamora has scored eight tournament goals, helping Fulham to only the second final in its 131-year history. The club has never won a major title and lost its only other final 2-0 to West Ham in the 1975 FA Cup. Zamora has 19 goals overall for the season.