A couple of weeks ago, we found out about which of the best players did not qualify for the World Cup, but this time we will be going over the best players who were able to qualify for the tournament, but can't make it because of injury.
Paulo Dybala: Argentina
Paulo Dybala is one of Argentina’s most important players. The 28 year old forward sustained a quadricep injury after converting a penalty kick for his club, Roma. The player was originally supposed to be out until the end of the year, but with new scans it is revealed that Dybala should be fit to play in Roma’s last game before the World Cup, but whether Argentina will want a player who has just recovered from injury is a mystery.
Kalvin Phillips, Reece James, and Kyle Walker: England
The Three Lions were hit by a massive injury crisis, when one of the midfielders, Kalvin Phillips, and two of England's defenders. Reece James and Kyle Walker were declared injured. Pep Guardiola, who coaches Walker and Phillips, expects them back by the World Cup. Reece James, the Chelsea defender, is not expected to make it to the World Cup, but he says that he is trying to make it back from his knee injury in time for the tournament.
N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba: France
Two midfielders who were crucial in France’s 2018 World Cup victory, N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba are both out for the tournament. Kante, known for always smiling, won’t be happy that his hamstring injury will be putting him out for a couple of months, meaning that he won’t be making the trip to Qatar. Pogba on the other hand, was injured in September, and returned to training in October, only to get injured again almost immediately. Pogba will be out until at least the end of the year.
Marco Reus and Leroy Sane: Germany
These Bundesliga players and German National Team wingers both have a chance of playing in the World Cup. Marco Reus definitely has a chance to feature in Qatar, but he is still injured and may miss the tournament because he rolled his ankle in a September game against Schalke in the Bundesliga. Leroy Sane’s injury is on the more unknown side of things, as nothing about when he will return has been released by his club, Bayern Munich.
Raul Jimenez: Mexico
Jimenez, the 31 year old player for Mexico has been out with a groin injury for many games for his team Wolverhampton. Jimenez, a key player in Mexico’s squad was recently announced on the team’s list of players who will be traveling to Qatar with the team, this is good news for the forward, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will end up playing in the tournament.
Georginio Wijnaldum: Netherlands
The Dutch midfielder Wijnaldum will be missing the World Cup with a broken leg. He sustained this injury in training with his team Roma. This will mean that the 31 year old star will have only played in one World Cup in his career, this is because the Netherlands didn’t qualify for the last World Cup and he will be gone for this one, luckily, he was able to have a successful campaign in the 2014 edition of the competition.
Diogo Jota, and Pedro Neto: Portugal
Portugal has now had 2 of their best players injured, with the most recent being Liverpool forward Diogo Jota. Jota went down in extra time in Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Manchester City last month. Pedro Neto, a defender for Portugal and Wolves had to get surgery after a game in early October against West Ham that will put him out for months.
Dani Olmo: Spain
The attacking midfielder for RB Leipzig and Spain, Dani Olmo, was injured in September, and was believed to be completely out of the tournament. But recently, Olmo said that he thinks he will recover before the tournament starts. While we don’t know which one is true, Spanish fans will definitely be rooting for the latter.
Comments