Five Serie A stars will be forced to watch their nations compete for the World Cup from home and a handful more are carefully managing their condition ahead of the tournament.
The six-week Serie A break has now begun, allowing players to head off to their national teams for the World Cup in Qatar. For the majority of players in Serie A, this six weeks gives them time to rest and prepare on the training ground ahead of the second half of the season, whilst others are fighting for a shot at glory on the world stage.
Five unfortunate Serie A stars will not be competing at the World Cup in Qatar, starting with Roma midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum. The 32-year-old Dutchman only made one appearance for the Giallorossi before suffering a tibia fracture in August, leaving him sidelined ever since.
Also ruled out the tournament is Paul Pogba. The Frenchman returned to Juventus in the summer but was immediately forced out of action with a knee injury. He underwent an operation in September and has not managed to recover in time, leaving him to watch Les Bleus from home.
His France teammate Mike Maignan will miss the World Cup in Qatar as well; the 27-year-old suffered a calf injury whilst on international duty back in September and his recovery hit an unexpected snag, ruling out him out of contention.
The latest two Serie A players to withdraw from the tournament are Argentina duo Joaquin Correa and Nicolas Gonzalez. The Inter striker is out with a knee injury and the Fiorentina forward suffered a muscle issue, forcing them to drop out of the World Cup.
A few other Serie A stars are keeping a close eye on their physical conditions at the World Cup.
Romelu Lukaku is still recovering from a hamstring injury and will likely have to wait until Belgium’s final group game against Croatia on December 1 to play. Paulo Dybala could miss Argentina’s opener against Saudi Arabia on November 22 and Dusan Vlahovic still working off an adductor issue.