Karim Benzema OUT: The players missing the World Cup due to injury

FT Desk
FT Desk
  • Updated: 20 Nov 2022 10:44 GMT
  • 5 min read
Benzema France recall shows Real Madrid how indispensable he is
© ProShots

The World Cup is the pinnacle of global football, with the best players from 32 nations set to face off in Qatar to showcase their talents and represent their countries on the biggest stage.

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With the tournament kicking off on Sunday 20 November, players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are preparing to push their nations to glory

The tournament is the first to be held outside the summer months following the regular European season and instead takes place in the middle of the current league campaigns.

However, a consequence of having a mid-season World Cup is the risk of stars getting injured prior to the competition.

A number of high-profile players have been cruelly ruled out of Qatar 2022. World champions France are without Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and now, recent Ballon d'Or winner Benzema.

Other major nations have been denied some of their key performers, with Germany travelling without Timo Werner, the Netherlands without Gini Wijnadlum, and Reece James missing the tournament with England.

FootballTransfers has created a regularly-updated list of players who have ended up missing out due to their fitness.

Players set to miss 2022 World Cup with injury

Ecuador

PlayerInjuryStatus
Joao RojasKneeOut

Netherlands

PlayerInjuryStatus
Gini WijnaldumBroken LegOut
Bruno Martins IndiThighOut

Qatar

PlayerInjuryStatus
Abdullah Al-AhrakCruciate LigamentOut

Senegal

PlayerInjuryStatus
Bouna SarrKneeOut
Keita BaldeBannedOut
Sadio ManeLegOut

England

PlayerInjuryStatus
Emile Smith RoweGroinOut
Ben ChilwellHamstringOut
Reece JamesKneeOut
Reece James is a out for the World Cup
© ProShots - Reece James is a out for the World Cup

Iran

PlayerInjuryStatus
Allahyar SayyadmaneshHamstringOut

USA

PlayerInjuryStatus
Chris RichardsLegOut
Miles RobinsonAchillesOut

Wales

Nobody.

Argentina

PlayerInjuryStatus
Joaquin CorreaKneeOut
Giovani Lo CelsoHamstringOut
Nico GonzalezMuscleOut

Mexico

PlayerInjuryStatus
Jesus CoronaBroken LegOut

Poland

PlayerInjuryStatus
Jakub ModerACLOut
Pawel DawidowiczMuscularOUT

Saudi Arabia

Nobody.

Australia

PlayerInjuryStatus
Martin BoyleKneeOut

Denmark

Nobody.

France

PlayerInjuryStatus
Karim BenzemaThighOut
Boubacar KamaraKneeOut
Paul PogbaKneeOut
Christopher NkunkuLegOut
Mike MaignanCalfOut
Lucas DigneAnkleOut
N'Golo KanteKneeOut

Tunisia

Nobody.

Costa Rica

Nobody.

Germany

PlayerInjuryStatus
Timo WernerAnkleOut
Marco ReusAnkleOut
Lukas NmechaKneeOut
Florian WirtzACLOut

Japan

PlayerInjuryStatus
Ryo MiyaichiACLOut

Spain

PlayerInjuryStatus
Jose GayaKnockOut
Mikel OyarzabalACLOut

Belgium

PlayerInjuryStatus
Alexis SaelemaekersKneeOut

Canada

Nobody.

Croatia

PlayerInjuryStatus
Lovre KalinicKneeOut

Morocco

PlayerInjuryStatus
Tarik TissoudaliACLOut
Adam MasinaKneeOut

Brazil

PlayerInjuryStatus
Arthur MeloMuscularOut
Arthur Melo is out of the World Cup
© ProShots - Arthur Melo is out of the World Cup

Cameroon

Nobody.

Serbia

Nobody.

Switzerland

Nobody.

Ghana

Nobody.

Portugal

PlayerInjuryStatus
Diogo JotaCalfOut
Pedro NetoAnkleOut
Ricardo PereiraAchillesOut
Diogo Jota is a big loss for Portugal
© ProShots - Diogo Jota is a big loss for Portugal

South Korea

Nobody.

Uruguay

PlayerInjuryStatus
Ronald AraujoGroinOut

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