I always thought they jumped the gun with Romario's injury before France '98. He could have been back in action by the end of June IIRC for the business end of the tournament. After all, they never trusted Edmundo to cover for Ronaldo in the final so it's not as if Zagallo was needing to use the full depth of his squad. Later on Zagallo did say that he dropped Romario for his attitude, which is an interesting take on matters, and probably shows the value of a selfless Bebeto-esque foil. Still, they'd have moved up another gear with a Ronaldo, Romario, Rivaldo triumvirate.
