Football fans will miss the opportunity to watch some of the talented players at the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup scheduled to kick off on Sunday, November 20.
TeamKenya.co.ke takes a look at some of the big names that have been confirmed to miss the tournament.
N’golo Kante
Chelsea FC and French no-nonsense midfielder N’golo Kante will not get an opportunity to lift the FIFA World Cup for the second time in his career.
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Kante has not featured for Chelsea since their 2-2 draw with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on August 14.
Chelsea announced on October 18 that the 31-year-old would be out for four months after undergoing surgery.
“N’Golo Kante has undergone an operation on his hamstring injury. The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage."
“Following a successful operation, N’Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months,” read a press release from Chelsea.
Diogo Jota
Jota suffered a nasty injury in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday evening.
He stated after the game that his dream of playing at the world cup had come to a screeching halt.
"After such a good night at Anfield mine ended in the worst way! At the last minute, one of my dreams collapsed.
"I will be one more supporter from the outside, club and country, and fighting to be back as soon as possible," read a statement from the Portuguese star.
Jota was in contention to be part of the star-studded Portuguese side that will open their campaign against Ghana in Group H.
Pedro Neto
Jota’s compatriot Pedro Neto also picked up an injury earlier in October that would keep him sidelined for months, thus missing a chance of making his FIFA World Cup debut in Qatar.
According to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the talented player injured his ankle in a match against West Ham and is set to undergo surgery.
Georginio Wijnaldum
The former Liverpool man was injured during a training session with his current side AS Roma and it was recently confirmed that he would not be part of the Dutch squad that would grace the Qatar World Cup.
Alexander Isak
Newcastle tactician Eddie Howe recently confirmed that his Summer signing Alexander Isak would not play at the World Cup.
The Swedish forward suffered a huge setback while recovering from a thigh injury and is speculated to return after the World Cup.
Paul Pogba
It was confirmed on Monday, October 31 that French midfielder Paul Labile Pogba will not feature at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
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