Jamie Carragher has branded the timing of this year’s World Cup “an absolute disgrace”, with a growing list of stars set to miss Qatar through injury.
In general, several stars from Europe and elsewhere have been ruled out or face a race against time to be fit for football’s main event.
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England will be without Reece James (knee) and Kyle Walker (groin), with Ben Chilwell now joining the growing contingent of walking injuries after picking up a hamstring injury in the closing minutes of the League One clash Champions Chelsea v Dinamo Zagreb.
South Korea skipper Heung-Min Son could also be absent from Qatar after suffering a serious eye injury playing for Tottenham against Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Socceroos are not without injury problems either, with Martin Boyle anxiously awaiting the results of scans on a knee injury to determine his availability for the tournament.
With a handful of games remaining before the official start of the World Cup, there is every risk that more players could be lost.
And Carragher believes all of this could have been avoided if the World Cup had gone to a more suitable host.
“I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the World Cup is in the position it’s in for a lot of reasons,” Carragher told CBS Sports.
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“It was corrupt that Qatar gave them the World Cup, we knew that at the time.
“They campaigned to hold it in the summer, it was impossible to hold a World Cup in the summer with the temperature. It moves to the place where it is now in the middle of the season.
“Players all over Europe and the world could get injured in the coming weeks. (Raphael) Varane was crying coming off the pitch at Stamford Bridge, that’s how close we are to a World Cup.
“An injury for 10 days or two weeks will keep players out of a World Cup, which shouldn’t happen. And it all starts with FIFA giving them the World Cup in the first place and then moving it.
“The things that happen in their country are a completely different matter, but I think it’s absolutely disgusting.”
France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry agreed, noting that if any of these players had suffered their season-ending injuries in a normal World Cup window, the things would have gone well
But with so little time between leagues around the world taking a short break and players linking up with their international teams, any injury now will spell disaster for a player’s hopes of representing their nation.
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“Normally a two-week injury should get you through the end of the season, if you miss the last two weeks of the season, you’ve got 20 days to prepare,” Henry said.
“This time, in the last game of the season (before the break)… and suddenly the World Cup starts.
“It doesn’t give you any chance to recover if you get injured.”
Such is the fear of missing the tournament, players are starting to relax in club training as a precaution.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said last Friday that he is “very sure (the players) have an eye on the World Cup”, although Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has believe that players must put their club first while the domestic season is still underway.
“Every day I feel responsible to protect them, to guide them, to get the best out of them,” Arteta said.
“But we’re playing Arsenal at the moment and that’s what they have to focus on.
“When they played in England or their national teams they have to focus on the national team and England and that’s what we have to do.”
For Premier League teams, most have three games between now and the World Cup with a Carabao Cup clash between two league games.
Club and country managers will be holding their breath for the players vying for a place in Qatar to emerge unscathed, but as Carragher and Henry pointed out, it’s a scenario that should never have happened in the first place.