The 5 most important World Cup injuries… told by our physiotherapists

Main injuries of the Qatar 2022 World Cup

From TRAK we wanted to publish an entry about World Cup injuries to vary the type of content we usually publish and share with you the fans we feel for the sport. This atypical sporting event in the middle of the season has left significant injuries for the teams.

One of the most pronounced cases is the case of Marcos Reus, whom we all know by now for missing the big dates with the German team. But he is not the only one who joins the list of casualties of the main teams. There are many other world soccer icons who have not been able to attend the event in the Qatari country.

Without a doubt, the French team has been the most affected by losing three of its best men for the world soccer festival: this is the case of Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté:

1. Benzema: the recent ballon d’or It was a few days before the start of the competition. In a training session with France, he suffered an injury to the quadriceps of his right thigh that forced him to leave the French team’s concentration and return directly to Madrid, where his medical team has not yet reported the severity of his injury.
2. Pogba: during his return to what was already his home, the midfielder has not recovered well from the operation he underwent in September. “After the medical tests, it is extremely painful to report that Paul Pogba will still need rehabilitation after his (knee) operation at the beginning of September. For this reason, Paul will not be able to join the French team in Qatar,” reported the footballer’s agent in a statement that was replicated by the AFP agency.
3. Kanté: The Chelsea FC player had returned to training for the London outfit but relapsed from his hamstring injury.

Another of the most important absences is the new signing of Bayern Munich and the silver ball, Sadio Mané. The striker was injured in the match against Werder Bremer. After having a second magnetic resonance, it was confirmed that he will have to undergo surgery to operate on a fibula head injury. This has turned out to be a hard blow for the Senegalese team that had the best player of their selection.

Messi, Lukaku or Araujo…touched but not sunk

The thing does not stay with those who have not reached the World Cup. Nobody wants to miss the competition and less once they have been summoned by their respective teams.

There are many stars who do not reach 100%: Romelu Lukaku, Memphis Depay, Ronald Aráujo or Lionel Messi, are some of the world soccer figures who are playing it with some discomfort:

1. Lukaku: “a myotendinous strain in the left hamstring “. The “Nerazzurri” striker injured his left hamstring on August 29 and even though he has played a few minutes with the Inter team, he has not reached 100% in World Cup competition. The Belgian striker has 68 goals in 102 appearances for the national team and the fact that he is not in top form could be a very important problem for Roberto Martínez. Lukaku was not present in the defeat of the Belgian team against Egypt 2-1 and it is confirmed that he will not play the first two games of the World Cup, will we see him take the field in the third?
2. Depay: the Barca striker, after the last national team break, has not played a single minute with the “culés”. After his injury to the left femoral biceps, he declared that he did not “want to force” to be as good as possible with his team. Despite his prognosis and his condition, Louis Van Gaal has decided to call him up. In the metallic orange‘s first match in this competition, the Dutchman played just over 30 minutes. “The Beast” has 42 goals in 82 games but we doubt that he will become the top scorer in the Netherlands (he is 8 goals behind Robin Van Persie).
3. Araujo: This is another of the many casualties suffered by the Barça defense last October. Two-time champion Uruguay saw it as impossible for one of its stars to reach the world competition recovered. But despite dragging an avulsion of the adductor tendon of the right thigh, he has been called up “to make a pineapple” and with the expectation of playing the matches from the round of 16 in the event that the Uruguayan team passed the group stage.

Messi: days before opening against Saudi Arabia, the Argentine star trained with a specific plan for him alone. But after losing against the Arabs, alarm bells went off around the albiceleste when it was learned that “Lionel felt discomfort again on Thursday in the soleus muscle of his left leg“. This greatly worries coach Scaloni, especially taking into account account that they must overcome Mexico if they want to pass of group stage in the competition.

Our point of view as physiotherapists

It is not the first time that TRAK’s team of physiotherapists has made a value judgment on the injury of an elite athlete. But the reality is that making the decision to summon a player for a competition like the World Cup always generates doubts. Even having all the health reports with the forecasts against them, some coach can make the deliberate decision to call up the player.

Recovery from an injury should never be taken lightly. And much less when it comes to elite sport, in which the body is taken to the limit. Therefore, tissue regeneration and the return to functionality must be respected, in addition to considering whether the physical condition of the footballer, in this case, is the most appropriate to face the tension and intensity of an international competition.

The case of the French team is a good example of consequence and prudence. Especially if we take into account that, despite having lost three of its stars, it is still one of the favorites to win this World Cup.

The cases of Depay and Araujo are, objectively speaking, risky decisions that not only concern their national teams, but their sets of origin. They can be the door to prolonged injuries that suppose a “handicap” for the rest of the season.

World Cup injuries: Alex Sandro, Neymar, Lucas Hernández…! [UPDATED]

In this section we will talk about the injuries of the Qatar 2022 World Cup:

1. Lucas Hernández (FRANCE): played just 11 minutes against Australia. He withdrew due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the World Cup.
2. Tomas Delaney (DENMARK): He had to leave the field with a muscle discomfort during the first half of the match between Denmark and Tunisia and will miss the rest of the tournament.
3. Yasir Al-Shahrani (SAUDI ARABIA): He suffered a broken jaw and will miss the rest of the tournament.
4. Alireza Beiranvand (IRAN): Barely seven minutes elapsed when the goalkeeper had to be removed from the pitch for a very strong blow to the face. He has started training with his national team wearing a face mask but in the match against Wales he was replaced by Hosseini.
5. Abdou Diallo and Cheikhou Kouyaté (SENEGAL): The left back and midfielder of the African national team left the match against the Netherlands with discomfort. Diallo asked to be substituted after suffering a muscle contraction and Kouyaté, suffered an inflammation in his right thigh. Days later, Diallo has been able to play the match against Qatar, while Kouyate has been low, despite the statements of Cissè, who claimed that he was ready to play.
6. Otávio (PORTUGAL): The Porto midfielder showed “muscular problems” after the match against Ghana. It is unknown if he will be able to re-engage throughout the World Cup.
7. Danilo Luiz da Silva (BRAZIL): The Brazil full-back finished the match against Serbia with clear discomfort in his right ankle. Brazil’s official report defined it as an “injury to the medial ligament of the ankle.” He will be out until the knockout stages.
8. Yassine Bounou (MOROCCO): The goalkeeper was present at the match against Belgium and sang the anthem; but seconds later he was instantly replaced by Munir Mohamedi. It has been revealed that it can be due to an indisposition caused by a medication.
9. Danilo Pereira (PORTUGAL): The right back of the Portuguese national team, suffered a fracture of three costal arches in training on Saturday. He will miss the rest of the matches of the qualifying phase.
10. Andrés Guardado (MEXICO): The Mexican made his World Cup debut against Argentina; However, he only played 40 minutes, as he was replaced by a muscle pull in the right abductor and will be out for 10 days.
11. Kingsley Coman (FRANCE): The Bayern Munich striker suffered minor muscle discomfort that prevented him from completing last Thursday’s training. He was doubtful against Denmark but finally played the match without problems although not as a starter.
12. Enner Valencia (ECUADOR): after finishing a match against the Netherlands in which he shone with his own light, he said that he had been diagnosed with a knee sprain, which did not end the match. The evolution of the injury was evident in the match against Senegal, where it could be observed that the striker was not 100%. It would be another of those World Cup injuries that would define the course of the competition.
13. Christian Pulisic (USA): In the action in which he introduced his team in the second round, the Chelsea midfielder collided violently with the Iranian goalkeeper. Pulisic did not play the second half of the match and was sent to the hospital at the end of the match with a diagnosis of “pelvic contusion”. Concern in the North American team ahead of the next phase of the tournament.
14. Nuno Mendes (PORTUGAL): the PSG winger suffers a muscle injury in his thigh that will prevent him from participating in the rest of the matches that his team plays in Qatar.
15. Alex Sandro (BRAZIL): The Juventus left-back felt pain in his left hip and will be out against Cameroon. An MRI revealed a muscle lesion in the left hip area (not specified).