Salah, Mbappe, Simons and the extra tension over injuries with 45 days until the World Cup

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The winger hid his face behind his shirt when walking from the Stamford Bridge pitch midway through the first half, before the tears were saved for the dressing room. A “devastated” Estevao will have known an uncomfortable truth that was confirmed with scans two days later. A grade-four hamstring tear, the worst of its kind, casts huge doubt over his involvement in the World Cup finals with Brazil. The danger zone is now upon us. One medium-term injury can spell heartbreak for those hoping to be among the 1,248 players that head to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The 45 days that count down to a tournament beginning on June 11 do not afford time for lengthy rehabilitation. It means added significance is now attached to every strain and pull. This was the case with the hamstring injury suffered by Kylian Mbappe in Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Saturday, a day before Mohamed Salah limped out of Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace with the same complaint. Lamine Yamal, Spain’s brightest star, was another to spark anxiety last week, with a thigh injury ruling him out of Barcelona’s last steps towards an inevitable La Liga title. The hope for Yamal, as with Mbappe and France and Salah with Egypt, is that these injuries will not inhibit their grand summer plans, but the margins grow narrower with each week. Others have already accepted the fate that has likely befallen Estevao, such as his countryman Rodrygo. The Real Madrid forward was diagnosed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last month, ruling him out of Brazil’s attacking plans for the World Cup. “One of the worst days of my life, how much I always feared this injury,” Rodrygo wrote on his Instagram account. Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike is another to miss out after rupturing his Achilles during the Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain. France will have a poorer squad with the attacker ruled out for six months. Germany’s own fresh loss will be Serge Gnabry. The 30-year-old faced an “extended period” out with Bayern Munich due to an adductor tear in his right thigh and accepted last week that his hopes of featuring in the World Cup were “sadly over” with so little time left to recover. Those contracting timescales would also have been on the mind of his international team-mate Kai Havertz when he appeared visibly upset when exiting Arsenal’s narrow victory over Newcastle United. Havertz, whose season has been punctuated by injuries, was replaced after 33 minutes with what Mikel Arteta called a muscular injury. England’s Eberechi Eze, Arsenal’s matchwinner on Saturday, was another forced off early, and both are due to be assessed in the next 24 hours to discover the severity of their injuries. Arsenal will not be the only ones anxiously awaiting news, given that national teams will likely be assembling in five or so weeks. Then there was Xavi Simons, a regular in the Netherlands side that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024. He was taken off on a stretcher in Tottenham Hotspur’s enormous win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday with a knee problem and, according to his head coach, Roberto de Zerbi, answers will only come “in the next few days”. Cristian Romero, another Spurs player, who was injured at Sunderland two weeks earlier, is already facing the prospect of a summer on Argentina’s sidelines. The last week has brought doubts to the door of at least half a dozen international stars, and with stakes climbing in the club competitions over the next month, more will inevitably come at the end of a season that is pushing some of its players to new boundaries. Career-defining moments can be placed in jeopardy with one misstep when a World Cup moves this close. If there is hope for the injured to cling to, though, it is the length of the tournament. This World Cup will span 38 days after its expansion and, to the biggest nations, allow for squad management in the less-demanding opening stages. Only 16 of the 48 teams will have departed by the time the knockout games commence on June 28, affording the opportunity for players to be eased back into contention. An injured star, with little prospect of featuring in the first two weeks of the tournament, could be included in a 26-man squad with less risk attached than in previous years. The five knockout games that await the eventual winners will be for when the best can be saved. De Zerbi has suggested that might leave the door ajar for Romero and Argentina, who will look to defend the title they won in Qatar four years ago. There is a helplessness to these weeks that lead towards a World Cup. For players, national team staff and supporters. All anyone can do is hope for better fortune than Estevao, Ekitike and Gnabry. Spot the pattern. 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