Gone Before June: Salah, Mbappe, Kudus, Yamal and the Stars the 2026 World Cup Is Already Losing

There are 43 days left until the 2026 World Cup kicks off in the United States, Canada and Mexico. For most football fans, that countdown is exciting. For some players, every passing day feels like a slow goodbye.

The danger zone is here. This is the period in every World Cup year when one bad tackle, one awkward landing, or one tight hamstring can end a four-year dream in a single afternoon. And in the past few weeks, the bad news has been coming thick and fast.

Let us walk through the players who will not be there, the ones still praying their bodies hold up, and what it all means.

Estevao (Brazil) — Earlier this month, the seventeen-year-old Chelsea winger pulled up clutching his hamstring against Manchester United. He walked off with his shirt covering his face, hiding tears. The scans confirmed the worst. A grade-four hamstring tear, the most serious kind. His World Cup is in serious doubt before it even started.

Rodrygo (Brazil) — Real Madrid's forward was diagnosed with a ruptured ACL last month. Six months minimum. He posted on Instagram: "One of the worst days of my life, how much I always feared this injury." Brazil's attacking plans just lost two of their brightest options in a matter of weeks.

Hugo Ekitike (France) — Liverpool's forward ruptured his Achilles during the Champions League tie against PSG. Six months out. France will travel to North America with a thinner attack than they had hoped.

Serge Gnabry (Germany) — The 30-year-old Bayern Munich winger tore an adductor in his right thigh. He admitted publicly last week that his World Cup dream was "sadly over." A career that included a Bundesliga and a Champions League will not include the 2026 summer.

Xavi Simons (Netherlands) — On Saturday at Molineux, the Tottenham playmaker went down in pain and left on a stretcher. By Sunday night, he had posted what every footballer fears having to write:

"They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way. Representing my country this summer, just gone."

Just gone. Two simple words that explain everything.

Mohamed Salah (Egypt) — Limped off in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last weekend with a hamstring problem. Egypt's hopes of progressing in this World Cup essentially ride on Salah's right leg holding together. He is 33. Hamstring injuries at 33 do not heal as quickly as they used to. Egypt will be watching every Liverpool training session like nervous parents.

Kylian Mbappe (France) — Pulled up with a hamstring strain in Real Madrid's 1-1 draw against Real Betis. France went from being among the favourites to suddenly counting the days and praying. Mbappe is the difference between France being contenders and France being the team to beat.

Lamine Yamal (Spain) — A thigh injury has ruled the 18-year-old out of Barcelona's run-in to the La Liga title. The good news is the injury is not severe. The bad news is the calendar does not stop moving. Spain need their star wide forward at full sharpness.

Cristian Romero (Argentina) — Tottenham's defender went down two weeks ago at Sunderland. Argentina, the defending champions, may have to defend their crown without their first-choice centre back. His manager Roberto De Zerbi has suggested he might still be useful for the knockout stages, which is a polite way of saying do not expect him in the group games.

Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze — Both Arsenal players limped off during Saturday's win over Newcastle. Havertz with a muscular issue after 33 minutes, Eze later in the game despite scoring the winner. Germany and England will both be checking their phones nervously over the next 24 hours.

For Ghanaian fans, this is where the story stops being abstract.

Mohammed Kudus has been out since 4 January, when he picked up a hamstring injury in Tottenham's 1-1 draw with Sunderland. The original projection was three months. Hopes were high that he would return in time to lead the Black Stars into Group L against England, Croatia and Panama.

Then came the relapse.

Earlier this month, Kudus felt something during an individual training session. The scans confirmed what nobody wanted to read. A fresh complication. Surgery on the table. Tottenham confirmed the news in a statement: "He had returned to team training during the past week, however will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery. We're all with you, Mo."

That last line — "We're all with you, Mo" — tells you everything about the mood. This is a player his club, his country and his teammates desperately need, and his body keeps saying no.

His Ghana teammate Antoine Semenyo did not hide his frustration. "We have a lot of experience going into the World Cup, but Mohammed Kudus' injury is frustrating because he is a pivotal factor in the team."

Pivotal is a kind word. Kudus scored twice against South Korea at the 2022 World Cup. He contributed four goals in qualification for this one. He is the difference between Ghana being a team that competes and a team that hopes. Without him, against England in particular, the gap looks frighteningly wide.

He joins Francis Abu and Mohammed Salisu as Ghanaian players expected to miss the tournament. Ernest Nuamah and Abdul Mumin are still racing to be fit after their own ACL recoveries. Ghana need a coach. Ghana need their best player. Ghana, frankly, need a miracle.

The campaign opens on 17 June against Panama in Toronto.

If there is good news, it is this. The 2026 World Cup is bigger than any before it, with 48 teams competing across 38 days. Only 16 teams will be eliminated before the knockout rounds begin on 28 June. That means an injured star with no chance of featuring in the first two weeks could still be named in a 26-man squad and brought in for the games that matter most.

That is the theory. The practice is messier. Players who miss the group stage often arrive at the knockouts without rhythm or sharpness. But for someone like Romero, Yamal or even Kudus, the door is not yet completely closed.

Just heavily, painfully, slowly closing.

There is something uniquely cruel about football injuries before a major tournament. You can spend four years building toward a moment. You can play through pain, sacrifice holidays, structure your entire life around being ready for one summer. And then, in a meaningless league fixture in April, your body simply gives up on you.

Estevao knew. That is why he hid his face. Simons knew, which is why his Instagram post read like a goodbye. Kudus knew the moment he felt that twinge in training, after weeks of careful rehabilitation, that the dream was slipping again.

For every player named in this article, there are dozens more around the world watching their physiotherapists like fortune tellers. Every twinge a question. Every scan a verdict.

Football fans love to focus on tactics, formations and transfers. But sometimes the most important player on a national team is the team doctor.

The next 43 days will decide a lot.