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Sure in the spirit of the game but the opponent must be allow to participate. There are things you can say to help them choose the sporting thing to do while still staying nuetral, but they must be allowed to take part. If you drop the ball and a player comes running up in a reasonable amount of time and isn't allowed to particiapte you are setting up a definite grounds for protest. Something I say is , "when I was still playing and something like this happened we used to let the keeper pick up the ball, right?" This doesn't tell them what to do directly only suggests the sporting thing to do.
What if it were the attacking team who had the ball and a defender went down on an injury inside the penalty area? Would you just drop the ball without a defender or the keeper? What if they score on the drop ball without the defender taking part? Ok this isn't the same situation but the thinking should be consistent.
The Laws doesn't say that both opponents need to participate, but both opponents have a right to take part.
You can not make that decision for either team or player.
Respect the game and have the players respect the game. Believe in the players more and they will do the right thing. 99% of the time they will do something sporting in this situation.
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