Christopher Nkunku has been ruled out of participating at the 2022 World Cup for France.
In heartbreaking news confirmed by Les Bleus on Tuesday night, the RB Leipzig midfielder will miss out on his chance to play for his country at a major tournament for the first time having initially been named in Didier Deschamps’ squad.
Such is the insane level of competition for places in France‘s squad, which is notorious for boasting remarkable depth, that the call-up truly was an illustration of Nkunku’s impressive talents.
How good is Nkunku?
While his rise into the professional game at Paris Saint-Germain had seen him on the radar of fans up and down France for years, it was Nkunku’s breakout performances for RB Leipzig last season that truly announced him to the world.
The midfielder-cum-forward earned himself a Ballon d’Or nomination for a 2021/22 campaign that saw him reap a breath-taking 35 goals and 20 assists as RB Leipzig bagged their first ever major honour by winning the DFB-Pokal.
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As such, it was no surprise to see Nkunku turning Deschamps’ head having previously featured for France’s youth teams and he duly earned himself a first senior cap earlier this year.
And with the 25-year-old having appeared a total of eight times for Les Bleus across 2022, it was something of an inevitability that he would be called up to participate at the World Cup in Qatar.
However, despite receiving that most coveted of nods, Nkunku will now have to wait until 2026 if he’s to wear the famous blue jersey on the biggest stage of all as he suffered a devastating injury during this week’s preparations.
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Why is Nkunku ruled out of the World Cup?
In fact, the moment that Nkunku had his World Cup dreams dashed was actually caught on camera as he could be seen limping out of France’s training session at their Clairefontaine base on Tuesday.
In training footage obtained by French outlet RMC Sport, Nkunku can be seen writhing in pain on the pitch after a 50:50 tackle, and fans soon became fearful that it could spell the end of his World Cup hopes.
And with the subsequent confirmation that Nkunku won’t be able to help France defend their world crown, the video takes on an extra level of sadness for just how unlucky and gutting it truly is.
Video: Heartbreaking moment Nkunku is injured in France training
🇫🇷 Nkunku contraint de quitter l’entrainement des Bleus en boitant. pic.twitter.com/yJrL7yHP65
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) November 15, 2022
So much of the beauty of the World Cup is in the fact that it only comes around every four years, but a heartbreaking consequence of that reality is often how hard it is for players to peak at just the right time to appear in them.
A player’s prime may only last a couple of years and if something so unlucky or unfortunate as injury or illness extinguishes that avenue of opportunity, then it’s simply heart-wrenching.
And there are hardly any players more deserving than Nkunku of his time in the sun on the biggest stage of all having fought his way into the France fold on the back of such an impressive year.
Yet, like with so many other stars set to watch Qatar 2022 from home, the brutal and unforgiving lottery of injuries has struck Nkunku and ensured that his dream will have to be put on hold for now.
Everyone at GIVEMESPORT wishes Nkunku the very best in his recovery and rehab from injury.
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