London 2012: Javier Hernandez Won't Play for Mexico, Destroys Gold Medal Hopes

Mexico's chances of winning the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London took a massive hit on Thursday with the news that Manchester United and Mexican star striker Javier Hernandez will not be participating.

According to Yahoo Sports, United and the Mexican FA agreed to allow Hernandez to take the summer months off and make sure he's fully rested for the new Premier League season in August.

Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson recently spoke about the situation, saying:

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His form last season was fantastic. He's found the second year more difficult, but a lot of that is down to not having a summer break for three years and playing every summer for his country.

Next year he will be fine as we have agreed with the Mexican Football Association that he is going to get the requisite rest he needs to perform in the Premier League.

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Any hopes Mexico had of reaching the gold medal game have now been erased with this news. The competition will be intense in London and with countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay not having to send players to the European Championships in June, they will be well rested for the Olympics.

Without the goal-scoring talents of Hernandez, Mexico does not have the firepower needed to make a deep run in the tournament.

For his own career, this is a smart move by Hernandez, since his Premier League performance with United this season was certainly not as good as last year.

The extra rest will help him come into next season strong, and since he's just 23 years old, he has lots of time to play in international competitions with the Mexico squad.