The 2022 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Qatar starts in the next ten (10) days and the buzz is already high among sports lovers.
Being the greatest showpiece on the planet, the World Cup mostly comes with a euphoria and interest not seen of any other sports in the world.
In previous World Cups, injuries have robbed countries of some of their players during the competition and it won’t be different for Qatar 2022.
However, this year’s injury list of players prior to the mundial is a little different because the competition is taking place in the middle of the European football calendar.
Some high-profiled players will definitely miss this World Cup because they are injured and 5 of such players are profiled below
1 . Paul Pogba of France : The midfielder has not played a single minute of football since he moved From Manchester United to Juventus in the summer.
Pogba injured his knee in July while on preseason with the Serie A club and first decided not to undergo surgery on his meniscus before changing his mind and having the operation.
He faced a race against time to recover in time to lead Les Bleus into the 2022 tournament and France boss Didier Deschamps was also aware of the situation.
Pogba was one of France’s most influential players in their 2018 World Cup triumph, scoring in the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final as they won the trophy for the second time.
2 . Ngolo Kante of France: The Chelsea midfield kinpin has had his fair shares of injuries this season. He underwent a hamstring surgery earlier in the season.
However, suffered a setback in the final stages of his recovery and has now been ruled out for four months after the surgery.
Kante has featured in only two Premier League games and played a total of 175 minutes this season.
3 . Timo Werner of Germany: The 26-year-old was taken off as a substitute in the 16th minute of RB Leipzig’s 4-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk leading to fears his World Cup spot was in doubt with the tournament just over two weeks away.
A statement from his club Leipzig said: “Timo Werner suffered an ankle injury last night in the win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
“Scans today in Leipzig showed that he has unfortunately torn the syndesmosis ligament in his left ankle and will therefore be out for the rest of 2022.”
Germany head coach Hansi Flick said: “It’s very sad news. I feel really sorry for Timo that he will miss a World Cup that he was determined to play at.
“Above all though, his absence is a big loss for the team. We all wish him a speedy recovery!”
4 . Reece James of England: Reece James hasn’t recovered sufficiently from the knee injury he picked up against AC Milan last month playing for Chelsea.
James flew to Dubai to undergo an intensive rehabilitation programme in an attempt to be fit for Qatar, and was even doing some tentative running at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground in recent days.
James revealed he was willing to take the « risk » of making the World Cup squad which he never gave up hope of reaching as he « worked harder than » ever to return to fitness.
« Devastated, » James wrote on Twitter. « The minute I injured my knee, I knew the turnaround to make the World Cup would be tight, but I always felt it was possible.
5 . Diogo Jota of Portugal: Dioga Jota will miss the 2022 World Cup due to a calf injury sustained in mid-October.
The injury took place on Oct. 16 when Jota’s club — Liverpool — took on Manchester City. The 25-year-old later received news that the injury to his calf muscle was serious.
Portugal are favored to win Group F ahead of Uruguay, Ghana, and South Korea.
Pulse
