Who are the big players set to miss the FIFA World Cup 2022 due to injury? Well, there’s a big list of players dealing with injuries right now. Some saw their World Cup dreams get shattered while some have made the trip to Qatar despite carrying injuries. Nevertheless, we have managed to make a list of the top 10 players who will miss the FIFA World Cup 2022 due to injury.
Played once every four years, the World Cup is the biggest stage of them all. There will be 32 countries from all over the globe competing to win one title, the title to become the best in the world. The World Cup is also the biggest platform to showcase your abilities. Many players have gone on to become superstars and secure moves to big clubs by performing in the World Cup. Also, it is one final ride for some veterans who we will get to see for the last time on the big stage.
Top 10 players to miss FIFA World Cup 2022 due to injury
10. Georginio Wijnaldum
Georginio Wijnaldum sustained a leg injury during training back in late August. Roma revealed that Gini suffered a fracture in his right tibia. Fortunately, it was a non-displaced fracture and he decided against surgery. The expected timeline was around 3-4 months out which pretty much ruled out any chances of the Dutchman making it to Qatar.
9. Giovani Lo Celso
One of those decisions which went down to the wire. Giovani Lo Celso suffered a right hamstring injury while playing for Villarreal. His parent club Tottenham wanted him to undergo surgery while he was more inclining towards conservative management as surgery would rule him out of the World Cup. I’m sure you won’t be hearing this for the last time in this article.
Finally, we have some details regarding Lo Celso’s injury and why he had to undergo surgery. Apparently, Lo Celso ‘detached’ his right proximal biceps femoris tendon, which is also known as hamstring tendon avulsion (avulsion meaning a small fragment of bone getting pulled out by the tendon as it detaches from the pelvis). The surgery is performed to treat the defect. Here is an animation of how the surgery is performed:
8. Mike Maignan
Mike Maignan was braced for an important role in the France national team in the World Cup. The Milan goalkeeper injured his calf muscle back in late September and was supposed to be out for 3-4 weeks. The injury had been disclosed as a strain to the medial gastrocnemius muscle. While he was still in the race to be fit for the WC, Maignan suffered another calf injury while recovering from the previous one. This time it was the soleus muscle and the reported timeline was around 2 months which suggests a Grade 2 strain (partial tear of the muscle). Even though Maignan traveled to France for further treatment, his availability in the World Cup looked unlikely. Therefore, the french goalie will now be continuing his recovery in Milan.
7. Philippe Coutinho
Phil Coutinho has been ruled out with a thigh injury. Aston Villa boss Unai Emery didn’t provide much details but there have been some news reports from both English and Brazilian outlets. The Brazilian has injured his quadriceps muscle and there have been conflicting reports on the timeline. Coutinho is set to be out of action for 6 weeks atleast suggesting a Grade 2 tear at the very least.
6. Timo Werner
Timo Werner was starting to re-discover his form after joining RB Leipzig this season. The German striker, unfortunately, suffered an ankle injury against Shakhtar in the Champions League. RB Leipzig later disclosed that Werner suffered a syndesmotic ligament tear in his left ankle and will be undergoing surgery to repair it. Werner will be out for the rest of 2022 as he continues to recover from the injury.
5. Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell has really bad luck when it comes to the Champions League. Chilwell injured his ACL last season in the Champions League against Juventus and he seems to be out for long-term once again after injuring his hamstring against Dinamo Zagreb in the UCL. The England International suffered a proximal hamstring tendon tear and could be out for up to 3 months. If you want to know more about Chilwell’s injury, you can read our piece on him by clicking here.
4. Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota’s injury was the only negative in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over rivals Man City. The Portuguese forward was stretchered off in the final minutes of the game. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated that Jota has a calf injury and will be out for ‘months’.
3. Reece James
Arguably Chelsea’s and England’s most important right-back on current form. Reece James got injured in Chelsea’s fixture against AC Milan where his leg was forced in a varus stress resulting in a knee ligament sprain, which we believe is the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). James has been ruled out for 8 weeks, suggesting a Grade 2 sprain for the Chelsea man.
2. Paul Pogba
Remember earlier in the article we mentioned something about this not being the last time you will hear about players not wanting to undergo surgery? Right, Paul Pogba had quite a controversial summer after suffering from a lateral meniscus injury. The club wanted him to undergo surgery but Pogba insisted on conservative management. After failing to recover from conservative treatment, the Frenchman had to undergo surgery thus losing 4-5 weeks in the process.
However, Pogba recovered from his meniscus injury just in time for the WC but suffered a thigh muscle strain due to being out of action for a long time. Unfortunately, the 4-5 weeks of hesitancy from Pogba cost him the opportunity to play in the World Cup. Even though we tried to brief Pogba’s injury, there are a lot of details we cannot cover in this article. However, you can read our detailed injury breakdown on Paul Pogba by clicking here.
1. N’golo Kante
The biggest blow of the World Cup 2022 comes with the absence of N’golo Kante. The Chelsea midfielder was integral to France’s WC victory back in 2018 but obviously, things have changed. Kante began to pick up a lot of injuries here and there. It has been the case this season too where Kante injured his distal hamstring tendon initially. While recovering from the injury, Kante suffered a setback that required surgery thus forcing him out of action for around 4 months.
Final thoughts
I have been critical of the football schedule in general but adding the World Cup to this is pure madness. The number of injuries at the end of the season is going to be a new record at this rate. There are players like Sadio Mane, Paulo Dybala, Ronald Araujo, and Kyle Walker who are being taken to the World Cup despite being injured. We just hope coaches won’t take unnecessary risks with players leading to further aggravation of their injuries. The goal is to return back home safe and healthy.
This concludes our article on “Top 10 players to miss FIFA World Cup 2022 due to injury“. Share it with your friends as much as possible. Thank you!
