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· Times of India
Neymar looks set to miss Brazil’s 2026 World Cup opener against Morocco on Saturday.
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The 34-year-old, who has not played for the national team in nearly three years, was a somewhat surprising inclusion in Carlo Ancelotti’s 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament in North America.
However, Neymar immediately sustained a grade two calf injury and while recovery is ongoing, the forward is unlikely to feature in New York on Saturday afternoon.
As well as Neymar, Spain are sweating on the fitness of star winger Lamine Yamal ahead of their opener against Cape Verde on Monday. Canada were without captain Alphonso Davies in their 1-1 opening-game draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina, while US star Christian Pulisic was withdrawn at half-time from their win against Paraguay.
See below for a full list of key injuries at this year’s World Cup.
Neymar (Brazil)
Neymar sustained a grade two calf injury just three weeks out from the tournament.
The 34-year-old is all but certain to miss the opening match against Morocco. However, coach Ancelotti is optimistic that Neymar could be in contention to face Haiti next Friday.
“Neymar is working very hard to recover as quickly as possible,” Ancelotti said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. “The expectation is that he can rejoin the group [training] next week.”
Neymar is set to miss Brazil’s opener due to a calf injury (Getty)Lamine Yamal (Spain)
The 18-year-old star injured his left hamstring and has been out since 22 April, but he has returned to full training with the Spain squad at their base in Tennessee.
The European champions face Cape Verde in their opener on Monday and coach Luis de la Fuente insists he expects Yamal to be “ready to play” - even if his involvement is limited to “just a few minutes.”
Fellow Spain winger Nico Williams also returned to training on Thursday. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino has also fully recovered from a foot problem.
Lamine Yamal returned to training on Thursday (Reuters)Christian Pulisic (United States)
The co-hosts’ star player shone in the first-half of USA’s 4-1 win against Paraguay in Los Angeles but was withdrawn by Mauricio Pochettino at half-time due to a calf problem. However, the knock is not thought to be serious.
"He received a kick in his calf and he felt tight at the end of the first half,” Pochettino said. “We didn't want to take any risks. It was difficult for him to walk, but we hope that it is not a big issue and he can be ready for the next one."
Pulisic later told reporters: “I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, so I'm really hoping that it's nothing. Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I'm hoping I'll be fine the next few days.”
The United States next face Australia in San Francisco on Friday.
Christian Pulisic was withdrawn at half-time in USA’s opening win against Paraguay (Getty)Alphonso Davies (Canada)
Canada’s captain and star player had to sit out their 1-1 draw against Bosnia on Friday in Toronto but there is hope that the winger will be fit for their next match against Qatar in Vancouver on Thursday.
Bayern Munich’s Davies sustained a hamstring injury in May but Canada coach Jesse Marsch believes the 25-year-old could play some part in the group stage.
"We did an MRI with him [on Wednesday],” Marsch said. “It showed very positive signs that he’s healing incredibly well, almost completely. We’re getting ready to ramp things up. I think that he’s showing, like he always has, a real good ability to recover from muscle injuries."
Alphonso Davies missed Canada’s opener (Reuters)Bukayo Saka (England)
Saka did not start England’s friendly win against Costa Rica but did put lingering concern surrounding his fitness to one side as he came on in the closing stages.
The Arsenal winger has been managing an Achilles problem. Thomas Tuchel will have to decide whether he is fit enough to start the Three Lions’ opener against Croatia on Wednesday.
"He was available and made himself available in the end of the season, and did this brilliantly, but he was managed in-between matches and that continues a little bit at the very moment, so we're building him up,” Tuchel said last week.
There is slight concern over Tino Livramento’s thigh problem but, that aside, Tuchel seemingly has a clean bill of health.
Bukayo Saka allayed injury fears after featuring for England against Costa Rica (Getty)William Saliba (France)
The French centre back has been experiencing back pain in recent weeks and is not taking part in team training, instead following an individual programme.
"William Saliba will not take part in the day's team training. Theo Hernandez is also rested as a precaution as is Aurelien Tchouameni," the FFF said in a statement on Friday.
France kick off their campaign against Senegal on Tuesday.
William Saliba is nursing back pain (AP)Cristian Romero (Argentina)
Romero missed the final weeks of Tottenham’s Premier League survival push due to a knee sprain, but is now back fully training with Argentina.
The world champions also have Julian Alvarez back in full training after an ankle issue.
Cristian Romero is back in full training (Getty)Mohammed Kudus (Ghana)
A confirmed absentee, Tottenham forward Kudus will miss the World Cup because of a quadricep injury.
The 25-year-old has not featured since January, in a blow to Ghana - who are in England’s group.
Mohammed Kudus has been ruled out of the World Cup (Getty)Wataru Endo (Japan)
Liverpool defensive midfielder Endo injured his foot in February and has been ruled out of the World Cup - and the 33-year-old has immediately retired from international duty.
“Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever,” he said. “From here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.”
Wataru Endo has not played for Liverpool since February (Getty)Arda Guler (Turkey)
There are concerns around Guler’s physical fitness after he sustained a hamstring injury late in the domestic season for Real Madrid.
Yet the star winger did appear for Turkey in friendlies against North Macedonia and Venezuela - and he is expected to start Turkey’s opener against Australia on Saturday night.
Arda Guler is expected to start for Turkey (Reuters)Jurrien Timber (Netherlands)
The Arsenal defender had been out since March due to a groin problem, but came on in the second half of the Champions League final against PSG.
However, the Dutch FA believe Timber had “not recovered sufficiently” to take part in the tournament in a “medically responsible manner.”
As such, Timber has left the Dutch squad and been ruled out of the World Cup.
Jurrien Timber has been ruled out of the World Cup (Getty)Lennart Karl (Germany)
The 18-year-old was expected to be one of the young stars of this tournament but suffered a torn thigh muscle in training, ruling him out of the World Cup.
Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the World Cup (Getty)Billy Gilmour (Scotland)
It was heartbreak for Scotland’s creative midfielder Gilmour, as he suffered an injury in their warm-up victory against Curacao.
The 24-year-old Napoli player picked up a knee injury in the 4-1 win, with teammate Scott McTominay saying he was “absolutely devastated” by the news.
Gilmour was, however, in camp to support his teammates ahead of their opener against Haiti on Saturday.
Billy Gilmour suffered a knee injury in Scotland’s warm-up game against Curacao (PA)