World Cup 2022 takes place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18; England face Iran on the second day of the tournament while Wales face USA; Wales vs England on November 29
Wednesday 16 November 2022 10:42, UK
Which stars have been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar with injury and who is facing a race against time to be fit?
The tournament in Qatar is set to be without a number of global football stars - among them France's Paul Pogba, who is now confirmed to be out 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.
England have injury concerns of their own with Reece James ruled out after failing to recover from a knee injury in time while Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are still working their way back to fitness as the World Cup gets ever closer.
Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has confirmed he will miss the 2022 World Cup after suffering a significant injury in Chelsea's win over Dinamo Zagreb.
South Korea's Heung-Min Son was another player thought to be in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
The Tottenham forward has undergone surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye after sustaining the injury in his side's 2-1 win over Marseille on Tuesday, and while Spurs gave no timeframe for the 30-year-old's recovery, he has now confirmed he is fit.
Japan have named their squad for Qatar and Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to be a key figure for Hajime Moriyasu's side. A muscle injury picked up in the latter stages of Arsenal's Europa League win against Zurich had left his participation in doubt, but there's been some positive updates and the full-back is expected to take his place in the Japan squad in Qatar.
More Premier League stars missing the tournament include France midfielder N'Golo Kante and Portugal's Diogo Jota.
Sadio Mane suffered an injury scare less than two weeks before the start of the World Cup after being forced off during Bayern Munich's 6-1 demolition of Werder Bremen.
Mane limped off with a leg injury after just 20 minutes of the game, with only 13 days to go before Senegal's opening match of the tournament against the Netherlands.
Canada may also face an almighty blow ahead of their first World Cup as Alphonso Davies limped out of Bayern Munich's 3-2 win at Hertha Berlin just 15 days before the World Cup is due to start.
The full-back departed on 64 minutes and was replaced by Lucas Hernandez, with just over two weeks to recover from this injury setback if he is to be fit in time for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Senegal's Sadio Mane limped out of Bayern Munch's clash with Werder Bremen and could now miss the tournament.
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. However, Giovani Lo Celso is a concern with a hamstring issue.
There was also good news for Germany fans, with Manuel Neuer nearing a return from his shoulder injury, although, like his French Bayern Munich team-mate Lucas Hernandez, who is back from a groin injury, there will be little time to get match-sharp.
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.
OUT
Emile Smith Rowe, England: Surgery on groin tendon
DOUBT
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Japan: Muscle injury
OUT
Boubacar Kamara, France: Recovering from knee ligament injury
DOUBT
Philippe Coutinho, Brazil: Quad injury
DOUBT
David Brooks, Wales: Hamstring injury after cancer (Hodgkin lymphoma) all clear and hasn't played since September 2021
DOUBT
Christian Norgaard, Denmark: Recovering from Achilles injury, due back early November
OUT
Jakub Moder, Poland: ACL injury
OUT
N'Golo Kante, France: Recovering from hamstring surgery
Wesley Fofana, France: Knee injury
Ben Chilwell, England: Hamstring injury
Reece James, England: Knee injury
OUT
Ricardo, Portugal: Recovering from Achilles surgery
OUT
Arthur Melo, Brazil: Thigh injury
Diogo Jota, Portugal: Calf injury
DOUBT
Kalvin Phillips, England: Recovering from shoulder surgery
Kyle Walker, England: Recovering from groin surgery
DOUBT
Raphael Varane, France: Hamstring injury
DOUBT
Moussa Niakhate, Senegal: Hamstring injury
OUT
Kyle Walker-Peters, England: Hamstring injury
DOUBT
Arel Bella Kotchap, Germany: Dislocated shoulder
DOUBT
Richarlison, Brazil: Calf injury
OUT
Pedro Neto, Portugal: Ankle injury
DOUBT
Raul Jiménez, Mexico: Groin injury
