Today sees the launch of Sven-Goran Eriksson's World Cup classical CD, a symphonic smorgasbord of his favourite works by English and Swedish composers. During the coming weeks, however, the England coach is just as likely to be found humming a lively little number inspired by the prophet Ezekiel who, it will be recalled, "connected dem dry bones."
According to the song, "dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around". Or so, in the case of David Beckham's broken foot bone, Eriksson must hope. And not only walk around but pass, cross, shoot and continue to produce the occasional Machiavellian free-kick such as the one that against Greece last October took England straight to the World Cup.
His dilemma will not have been helped by the news that Kieron Dyer yesterday limped out of training at Newcastle with a foot injury.
Recently Eriksson confessed that, as the tournament approached, his biggest fear was losing players through injury. He was not kidding, as the moment when Beckham was caught by Aldo Duscher's two-footed tackle at Old Trafford on Wednesday night sadly proved.
The 3-2 victory over Deportiva La Coruna which completed a 5-2 win on aggregate to take Manchester United to a Champions League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen was overshadowed by news that Beckham had fractured the second metatarsal bone in his left foot.
It will take the England captain six to eight weeks to recover, which means his chances of leading his country in the World Cup are, at best, in the balance. England are only 7 weeks away from their opening game against Sweden in Saitama and the squads have to be with Fifa by May 21, less than six weeks from now.
The England coach plans to announce his squad on May 7 - or May 9 if United and Arsenal have to play their outstanding Premiership game on May 8, which is what will happen if Arsenal reach the FA Cup final. He may well include Beckham in the hope of the player recovering in time and under the Fifa rule of force majeure it might be possible to whisk in a replacement 24 hours before the World Cup starts.
Whether Beckham will be fit to toe any deadline will be a subject of considerable speculation from now on. A cracked metatarsal may not be a threat to life or limb but for a professional footballer it is the equivalent of a concert pianist breaking a finger or, more pertinently perhaps, a boxer a knuckle.
Unless Beckham is sufficiently mended to take some part in one or the other of England's final practice matches against South Korea on May 20 or Cameroon on May 26, surely it would be too risky to keep him in the squad.
Bobby Robson lost his England captain Bryan Robson early on in two World Cups - Mexico in 1986 and Italy in 1990 - after taking a gamble first on a dislocated shoulder and then on a damaged achilles tendon. Ron Greenwood took Kevin Keegan's back trouble and Trevor Brooking's pelvic strain to the 1982 World Cup in Spain and saw the pair play for only 27 minutes.
In the shorter term the bigger victims are United, who must now try to reach the Champions League final without the services of both Beckham and Roy Keane, who tore a hamstring in La Coruna in the first leg of the quarter-final. Keane is already touch and go for the summer and it would be a rare double that saw the captains of England and the Republic of Ireland forced out of a World Cup by injuries.
At least Sir Alex Ferguson has the resources to maintain the width in his side in spite of losing Beckham. On Wednesday, even with Ryan Giggs switched to the centre alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy, Quinton Fortune was an important presence on the left and he or Giggs can operate on the right if need be.
Eriksson does not enjoy similar options. He was already shorthanded on the left flank and now may have to consider, if available, playing Dyer, the obvious choice on that wing, on the right if Beckham either misses the World Cup or makes a late start. Leeds United's Lee Bowyer is unlikely to be considered whatever the circumstances.
One effect of Beckham's broken foot has been to expose the limitations within which Eriksson is operating. The player may not be irreplaceable, even after his incredible exertions against Greece, but at present there is no other English footballer with quite his particular attributes.
Beckham is one of the quintet upon whose fitness and form Eriksson has to rely if England are to enjoy a passably successful World Cup. The other four are Michael Owen (dodgy hamstrings), Steven Gerrard (iffy groin), Paul Scholes and David Seaman, and one would not bet on Owen, Gerrard and Scholes all being available for Wednesday's friendly against Paraguay at Anfield.
Eriksson will announce the squad for that match tomorrow evening but already he has lost Emile Heskey, who was declared unfit yesterday after tweaking a hamstring in Liverpool's Champions League game in Leverkusen on Tuesday.
With Beckham laid up, Eriksson now looks like going into the World Cup without ever being able to field his strongest team in a warm-up fixture. Welcome, Sven, to the England job.
Compare the possible absence of Beckham with the effect on France of being without Robert Pires, now out of the tournament with a medial knee ligament injury. Pires is a big loss but at least France's coach Roger Lemerre can play Thierry Henry on the left.
As to the likely choice of an alternative England captain, Sol Campbell is next in line, although the last man to take the armband once Beckham had left the action was Robbie Fowler. But that happened amid all the substitutions when England lost a friendly 2-1 to Italy in Leeds just over a fortnight ago.
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