The article has been checked for accuracy (content includes links to reputable media sites, academic research institutions, and occasionally medical studies). All content on our website has been reviewed, however, if you believe our content is inaccurate, out of date or otherwise questionable, you may contact us to make the necessary corrections.
6 minutes
Sometimes, fate plays a trick on athletes. When an important event is approaching, precautions must be maximized to avoid injuries.
Playing in a World Cup is the dream of most professional soccer players. Unfortunately, not all of them get to comply, either because their teams do not qualify for the competition or because they suffer injuries that leave them outside the lists in good faith to represent their countries.
When there are months or weeks to go before the World Cup, a competition that takes place every 4 years, the expectations of those who love this sport grow. However, they also increase anxiety and nerves.
5 footballer injuries that made them lose a World Cup
Even having been chosen by their trainers, many great figures have missed the top competition due to injuries of different kinds. Next, we will review some symbolic absences in the World Cups.
1. Radamel Falcao torn ligaments in 2014
Striker Radamel Falcao García lived at that time one of his best football moments. He was an undisputed figure at Monaco, where he had scored 11 goals in 19 games in his first 6 months at the club.
However, on January 22 of that year He suffered an injury to his left knee. more precisely in the anterior cruciate ligament, which would require 6 months of post-surgical rehabilitation. From that moment, it was already known that he would miss the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Cruciate ligament rupture is one of the most serious knee injuries. It is usually caused by a too pronounced elongation of the structure that it is not able to resist. In the case of the Colombian, it occurred after a strong tackle from a rival defender during a cup match.
2. Tear of Roberto Ayala in 2002
Defender Roberto Fabián Ayala was the captain and benchmark of the Argentine team that had reached the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. All the positivism that surrounded the team would collapse on the pitch. And not only because of the elimination of the team in the first phase of the tournament.
Before the debut, Ayala suffered a tear in the hamstring muscles of his left leg. It was right in the heat of the first match against Nigeria. He had already injured that area in March of the same year.
The tear is a muscle rupture that occurs due to a too intense or sudden contraction. In addition, it is possible that it occurs in the face of repeated or prolonged efforts in an already exhausted muscle, due to lack of warm-up or insufficient hydration.
Because Ayala’s recovery would take at least 2 weeks, coach Marcelo Bielsa did not count on him for the first 3 games. Although he could have played in later phases, Argentina was eliminated.
3. Santiago Cañizares ruptured tendon in 2002
The injury of the Spanish goalkeeper, a symbol of the Valencian team, is a very striking case when it comes to injuries to soccer players prior to a World Cup. In this case, the goalkeeper did not suffer muscle discomfort or a bone break on the pitch. He not even training.
His absence from the 2002 tournament was due to a domestic accidentwhich actually occurred during a concentration of the selected in the city of Jerez.
What happened was that a bottle of cologne fell on his foot, which caused a serious injury to a tendon. The soccer player had an unfortunate reflection and tried to cushion the impact of the bottle with his foot, which caused the glasses to make a deep cut. In this way, he was left out of the list of those chosen from his country for that World Cup event.
4. Pep Guardiola’s ligament strain in 2002
As can be seen, the World Cup played in Asia had many absences of players who could not play matches due to physical impediments. Josep Guardiola, another benchmark for the Spain team at the time, was also one of them.
As in the case of Falcao, the midfielder suffered a ligament injury, although it was not a rupture, but a strain of the internal collateral ligament of the right knee.
Back then, Guardiola was playing for Brescia in Italy. At the end of April, during a match against Juventus, the Spaniard suffered an injury that would keep him off the pitch until July. Therefore, he would miss the Korea-Japan World Cup.
Unlike a ligament tear, in strain the structure is stretched beyond its capabilities, but does not break. It usually occurs in cases of trauma or also by requiring the joint to perform a movement for which it is not trained, such as excessive torsion in the knee.
5. Franck Ribery’s back problems in 2014
Lower body injuries are not the only ones that can complicate footballers. Franck Ribery, a midfielder for the French national team, knows this well, was unable to attend the event on Brazilian soil due to repeated back problems.
These inconveniences had haunted the Bayern Munich striker since the previous months and, in fact, had prevented him from playing several friendlies with his team. Finally, his back pain did not stop and Ribery could not play the World Cup with his team.
Sergio Ramos in Qatar 2022?
Although there are still several months to go before the World Cup in Qatar, Spanish defender Sergio Ramos is not going through a good present from the physical point of view. Since his arrival at PSG in 2021, he has not had much participation due to various injuries, such as muscle tears in the biceps femoris and calf, and a meniscus operation in his left knee.
The recovery is costing the former Real Madrid, who would reach the World Cup with more than 36 years, more than necessary. Inactivity could also be added to these problems, since he has barely played a handful of games all season.
Injuries in soccer players, the terror before the World Cups
It is a reality that cannot be lived or played with fear. Surely, most soccer players forget everything when they enter the field to compete and do not take care of their physique for fear of possible injury. The instinct of overcoming and competitiveness dictates that to them.
However, it is also true that the run-up to a World Cup is a time of uncertainty and stress. Too bad it weighs us, also bad news in the sports world.
Although we fans would like there to be no injuries to soccer players and for everyone to be able to go to the World Cup, history indicates that there are always more than notable absences to mourn.
To the above list we could add several other brilliant names from bygone eras, such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Marco Van Basten, Roberto Baggio, Romário, Robert Pires, Daniel Passarella and Marco Reus. The latter (in the cover photo) missed lifting the cup in 2014 due to an ankle injury.
You might be interested…