There is no worse time for a footballer to get injured than just before the World Cup.
With less than 50 days until 48 countries take to the USA, Canada, and Mexico, for the sport’s most prestigious tournament, players all over the world are praying they can stay fit in order to fulfill their dreams.
It is an absolute nightmare for players to pick up an injury now. Pull a hamstring? World Cup dreams over. Do your groin? Sayonara, North America. Rupture your Achilles? Don’t even think about looking at your suitcase.
Missing the World Cup through injury was once described as the ‘my biggest disappointment as a player’ by Christian Vieri, who missed glory with Italy in 2006 due to a persistent injury.
Some players have already had their hearts broken, the latest being Germany’s Serge Gnabry, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a thigh problem, while plenty of others are sweating over their fitness with less than two months to go until the summer’s showpiece.
We at Daily Mail Sport take a look at the biggest names who are in danger of missing the World Cup, and those who have already had their dreams destroyed by injury.
Daily Mail Sport take a look at the biggest names who are in danger of missing the World Cup through injury
Lamine Yamal – Spain
Panic is rife in Spain right now, and understandably so. Their biggest and brightest star, Lamine Yamal, will not play another game of club football before the end of the current season.
It’s not exactly the news Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, will have wanted to hear, considering there are just 18 days between the end of Barcelona’s campaign on May 24 and the beginning of the World Cup on June 11.
Yamal was forced off during the LaLiga leaders’ 1-0 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday night, hobbling off with a hamstring injury that he picked up while scoring a penalty.
The 18-year-old is central to his country’s World Cup aspirations, having played a crucial role during their Euro 2024 triumph, but his injury left officials sweating over his availability after he clutched his left hamstring as his team-mates swarmed him in celebration at the Nou Camp.
And on Thursday afternoon, his club revealed the extent of the issue. They also provided a more positive update on his World Cup chances.
In a statement, Barcelona said: ‘The tests carried out have confirmed that first-team player Lamine Yamal has a hamstring injury in his left leg (biceps femoris muscle).
‘The player will follow a conservative treatment plan. Lamine Yamal will miss the remainder of the season, and he is expected to be available for the World Cup.’
Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of Barcelona’s season due to a hamstring problem
Cristian Romero – Argentina
As Tottenham captain Cristian Romero slowly trudged off the pitch at the Stadium of Light, he did so with tears in his eyes.
It was clear that he feared the worst.
At the time, after a collision with his own goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky during the second half of a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, it didn’t seem like anything more than a knock. Many even thought the Spurs skipper would be able to continue.
But the tears told the story, and just days later, it was confirmed that Romero would miss the rest of Tottenham’s relegation fight, and maybe even the World Cup.
Danny Murphy said on TalkSport: ‘I think his tears were probably because he thinks he’ll miss the World Cup. I know that sounds a bit cynical, but why are you crying if you’ve just got a knock?’
‘I mean, it did look a naughty one [the collision]. I think he thinks he’s done his knee, I think he knows. You know, as a player when you’ve got a bad one and I think the tears were: “I’m going to miss the World Cup”.’
Romero is not thought to require surgery, but his absence for the final five games of the Premier League is another serious blow to Roberto De Zerbi, with his team cut two points adrift in the relegation zone and without a win in 15 games.
Expected to be sidelined for up to eight weeks, Romero may still make a recovery in time for the World Cup, with reports in Argentina suggesting he could be fit in time for the holders’ first match against Algeria in June.
Cristian Romero was in tears after picking up a knee injury in Tottenham’s loss to Sunderland
Arda Guler – Turkey
Hamstrings seem to be messing with a lot of young players’ dreams for the World Cup.
Yamal is not the only player in a race against the clock to make it to the tournament after a twinge in a muscle that so often lets footballers down. Real Madrid’s Arda Guler is going through the same thing.
It is thought that Guler will miss the remainder of Los Blancos’ season after being forced off in the second half of their win over Alaves on Tuesday. The club says he has been ‘diagnosed with a muscle injury in the biceps femoris of his right leg’.
Not a good sign for Turkey, no?
Well, while the injury is far from ideal, the Athletic has reported that Guler’s camp are ‘optimistic’ that the 21-year-old will recover in time for the tournament.
The country’s first match of Group D will be against Australia, and they will be desperate for their star man, who has 20 goal involvements for Madrid this season, to be involved.
Arda Guler will miss the rest of Real Madrid’s campaign with a Hamstring strain
Mikel Merino – Spain
It has been a long time since we have seen Mikel Merino step onto a football pitch.
The last time we saw the midfielder don the Gunners red shirt was back in January during Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester United. A painful day for both Merino and the club.
Merino suffered a broken foot during training, not long after the disappointing defeat, which Mikel Arteta described as ‘very rare’. He underwent surgery soon after.
Arsenal didn’t put a timeline on his recovery at the time, and it is still unknown whether he will return to the pitch before the end of the season.
However, Arteta has provided an update on the Spaniard, whose chances of a spot in the European Championship holders World Cup squad seem to be diminishing by the day.
‘He’s evolving really well,’ Arteta said on Friday, ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Newcastle. ‘He’s really pushing every boundary that he possibly can.’
There is a belief that Merino will be back running on the grass within two to three weeks, according to Marca, but whether he will have enough time to regain enough fitness for the World Cup is yet to be seen.
Arsenal’s Mikel Merino broke his foot in training and has not played since scoring in a defeat to Man United in January
Eder Militao – Brazil
Yet another hamstring injury is hindering a player’s chance of playing in a World Cup.
Eder Militao may be one of football’s unluckiest players when it comes to injuries. The defender has been riddled with fitness problems over the last few seasons, having torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) twice while at Madrid.
And while his knee has avoided damage this time around, it’s his hamstring that has let him down. He has picked up a similar injury to that of Guler, which will keep him out until the end of the season.
A statement from the club on Thursday read: ‘Following tests carried out today on our player Eder Militao by Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the biceps femoris of his left leg. His progress will be monitored.’
However, despite the injury, it is understood by ESPN that Militao’s close circle believe that he will recover in time for the World Cup.
Eder Militao is hopeful to still make Brazil’s World Cup squad despite a hamstring injury
Hugo Ekitike – France
The first five players in this list still have a chance of playing in this summer’s big bonanza, but not all injured stars have been so lucky.
Hugo Ekitike is one of those stars.
The Frenchman’s World Cup dreams were crushed during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, as he had to be taken off on a stretcher.
Ekitike ruptured his achilles when going for the ball, and it was apparent within seconds that he had done something serious. He has since undergone surgery on the area, and will now start rehabilitation, which typically takes between six and nine months.
‘The surgery went well,’ said Liverpool boss Arne Slot. ‘That’s the first important step that he had to make.
‘But I think in such a long rehab process, there are so many crucial steps to be made before you can actually say it’s going to take that amount of months or that amount of months. It’s going to take a long time.’
Despite the heartbreaking injury, Ekitike seems to have taken it as well as one possibly can, even posting an AI video on Instagram of him running onto the football pitch with crutches, before throwing them away and scoring a goal.
Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup after having surgery on a ruptured achilles sustained against PSG
Estevao Willian – Brazil
As previously stated with Romero, when a player is in tears, you know it’s not good.
And just like the Argentinian, Chelsea’s Estevao Willian did not take to getting injured well. The now sacked Liam Rosenior revealed that the 18-year-old was in tears at half-time after limping out of Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United with a hamstring injury.
The winger was hurt early on and had to be replaced in the 16th minute by former United man Alejandro Garnacho, who was abused mercilessly by the away fans throughout the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
‘He was devastated,’ said Rosenior. ‘He was crying at half-time. I’m really devastated for him.
‘It looks like it’s his hamstring, and that’s a moment actually when he’s running through on their goal for a one-versus-one and pulls his hamstring in that moment. I hope Estevao comes back sooner rather than later.’
The injury seems to have all but ended Estevao’s hopes of a maiden World Cup with Brazil, with his first Chelsea campaign now officially over.
Estevao injured his hamstring in the first half of Chelsea’s recent defeat to Man United
Interim Chelsea boss Calum McFarlane said: ‘Estevao unfortunately won’t play for us this season,’ Calum stated during the press conference at Cobham. ‘He will be out for a little bit of time.
‘We’re not sure how long he will be out for, but he certainly won’t play for us again this season, unfortunately. That’s really unfortunate for him, especially for someone so young and talented as he is, but we are here to support him and be around him.’
His hopes of being selected by Carlo Ancelotti for this summer’s tournament are more than just hanging by a thread.
