From Sadio Mane to N’Golo Kante: Top eight stars who won’t play at FIFA World Cup 2022

The FIFA World Cup is round the corner, with hosts Qatar all set to kick-off the proceedings against Ecuador on November 20. A total of 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four teams each, will be headlining the show at football’s grandest stage. Well this could possibly be the final time fans witness talismanic players Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo take part in the World Cup.

Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema are some other notable names, who will add to the star quotient in the tournament. However, some of the biggest names won’t be part of the event, despite their respective nations playing at the World Cup.

We have compiled a list of major players, who have been ruled out from the World Cup 2022:

PAUL POGBA (FRANCE)

Pogba had injured his knee in pre-season and underwent a surgery in September to repair a damaged meniscus.

The midfielder resumed training but on October 31, but his agent informed that the midfielder won’t return to action for Juventus nor the world champions before the World Cup.

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N’GOLO KANTE (FRANCE)

The Chelsea midfielder suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury that restricted him to two league appearances this season. He will be out of action for four months after undergoing surgery.

TIMO WERNER (GERMANY)

The RB Leipzig forward, 26, sustained an ankle injury during their 4-0 Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at the start of November and will be out of action for the rest of 2022.

REECE JAMES (ENGLAND)

The 22-year-old right back injured his knee in Chelsea’s Champions League clash against AC Milan in October and shared that he won’t be a part of the England team for the World Cup.

DIOGO JOTA (PORTUGAL)

The Liverpool forward will miss the tournament due to a calf injury sustained in their victory over Manchester City.

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MARCO REUS (GERMANY)

The Borussia Dortmund captain sustained an ankle injury and failed to recover fully in time for the World Cup. Reus had also missed the 2014 World Cup after getting injured on the eve of Germany’s departure for Brazil, where they won the title.

BEN CHILWELL (ENGLAND)

Left back Ben Chilwell sustained a hamstring injury during added time in Chelsea’s Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb. He informed some days later that he had suffered “significant damage” which would rule him out of the World Cup.

SADIO MANE (SENEGAL)

Sadio Mane was named in Senegal’s squad for the World Cup despite suffering an injury playing for Bayern Munich. But now he has been ruled out of the tournament after officials confirmed that he would need surgery on the injury.

– With inputs from Reuters