Injuries to some of soccer鈥檚 star players, including , and , sparked concern ahead of the .
All three have been included in their national team squads for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but others have not been so fortunate.
France striker Hugo Ekitike in April that could take more than six months to heal, ruling him out of the World Cup and probably the start of next season with Liverpool.
Brazil stars and are out. So is Bayern Munich and Germany forward Serge Gnabry after .
Messi caused the biggest scare after the Argentina great left the field injured while playing for Inter Miami last month. He has been as defending champion Argentina aims to retain its trophy, but it is still not known whether he has fully recovered from what was described as muscle fatigue.
Yamal, Spain’s new superstar, missed the final weeks of the season for Barcelona because of a hamstring injury that made him fear he would miss out on his first World Cup.
鈥淚 remember the play in which I got injured,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was praying inside for it not to be serious, for it to be a cramp or something like that, because I knew the World Cup was very close.鈥�
Players and coaches have increasingly warned about the impact of an ever-packed schedule, and the expanded World Cup comes a year after the relaunched, supersized Club World Cup. The Champions League has also been expanded in recent years.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta describes the demand on players as 鈥渁n accident waiting to happen.”
Players definitely ruled out of the World Cup
Argentina: Joaqu铆n Panichelli (ACL)
Brazil: 脡der Milit茫o (hamstring), Rodrygo (ACL)
England: Ben White (medial ligament)
France: Hugo Ekitike (Achilles)
Germany: Serge Gnabry (adductor)
Netherlands: Xavi Simons (ACL)
United States: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Achilles), Patrick Agyemang (Achilles), Johnny Cardoso (ankle)
Scotland: Billy Gilmour (knee)
Spain: Fermin Lopez (foot)
Ones to watch
Argentina: How soon Messi will be involved is not known. Cristian Romero sustained a knee injury at the end of the season, but has been included in Argentina’s squad.
Canada: Star left back Alphonso Davies and it is not certain he will recover in time for his team’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Croatia: Veteran midfielder Luka Modri膰 in April. He was back playing for AC Milan well in time for the World Cup, but was wearing a protective face mask. Defender Jo拧ko Gvardiol returned to training for Manchester City in early May after four months out with a , but is going to the World Cup.
United States: Gio Reyna for Borussia M枚nchengladbach, and none since Dec. 19. 鈥淗e can help because he鈥檚 a different player, different talent, and I think in all the roster you need to have a player like him,鈥� U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
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