Which Premier League stars have been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar with injury and who is facing a race against time to be fit?
Arsenal
OUT
Emile Smith Rowe, England: Surgery on groin tendon
Aston Villa
OUT
Boubacar Kamara, France: Recovering from knee ligament injury
Bournemouth
DOUBT
David Brooks, Wales: Hamstring injury after cancer (Hodgkin lymphoma) all clear and hasn’t played since September 2021
Brentford
DOUBT
Christian Norgaard, Denmark: Recovering from Achilles injury, due back early November
Brighton
OUT
Jakub Moder, Poland: ACL injury
Chelsea
N’Golo Kante is out of the tournament with a hamstring injury
OUT
N’Golo Kante, France: Recovering from hamstring surgery
Wesley Fofana, France: Knee injury
DOUBT
Reece James, England: Knee injury
Ben Chilwell, England: Hamstring injury
Leicester
Ricardo Pereira won’t be available for Portugal
OUT
Ricardo, Portugal: Recovering from Achilles surgery
Liverpool
A calf injury has cost Diogo Jota his World Cup place
OUT
Arthur Melo, Brazil: Thigh injury
Diogo Jota, Portugal: Calf injury
Man City
Kyle Walker is in a race against time to be fit following groin surgery
DOUBT
Kalvin Phillips, England: Recovering from shoulder surgery
Kyle Walker, England: Recovering from groin surgery
Man Utd
DOUBT
Raphael Varane, France: Hamstring injury
Nottingham Forest
DOUBT
Moussa Niakhate, Senegal: Hamstring injury
Southampton
DOUBT
Arel Bella Kotchap, Germany: Dislocated shoulder
Tottenham
Richarlison is still hoping to be fit to represent Brazil
DOUBT
Richarlison, Brazil: Calf injury
Heung-Min Son, South Korea: Eye injury
Wolves
Pedro Neto has been ruled out of the competition
OUT
Pedro Neto, Portugal: Ankle injury
DOUBT
Raul Jiménez, Mexico: Groin injury
Familiar faces who could also miss out
Romelu Lukaku is an injury doubt with the World Cup after injuring his hamstring
The tournament in Qatar is also set to be without some other global football stars, with France’s Paul Pogba now confirmed to be out of the World Cup due to an ongoing knee problem.
Pogba injured his knee in pre-season and went under the knife in September to repair a damaged meniscus. The 29-year-old resumed training but on October 31 his agent said the midfielder would not return to action for Juventus nor the world champions before the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku is a major doubt after picking up a hamstring problem.
The Netherlands will definitely be missing Gini Wijnaldum, who broke his leg in August, but Paulo Dybala and Angel Di Maria look on course to win their own battles with calf and hamstring injuries, respectively, to represent Argentina.
Paul Pogba won’t be going to Qatar due to a knee problem
There was also good news for Germany fans, with Manuel Neuer nearing a return from his shoulder injury, although, like his France Bayern Munich team-mate Lucas Hernandez, who is back from a groin injury, there will be little time to get match-sharp ahead of the World Cup.
Neuer could also be at risk of missing out after revealing he has undergone treatment for skin cancer. The 36-year-old has not played for Bayern since early October.
Wonderkid Florian Wirtz has returned to full training with Bayer Leverkusen after tearing his ACL last term and has reportedly been included in Germany manager Hansi Flick’s provisional squad. But they will be without Timo Werner, who has torn an ankle ligament and won’t be fit until the new year.
Spain’s Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal – key figures in their run to the Euros semi-finals last summer – are in a similar situation after ankle and knee injuries.
Sevilla winger Jesus ‘Tecatito’ Corona suffered a fracture on his left ankle while he was training with the La Liga club in August and underwent surgery meaning he will be missing from the Mexico squad.
The 29-year-old was named in Mexico coach Gerardo Martino’s preliminary 31-man squad but Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli said he could return to training only by December.
