Top 10 Players To Miss The World Cup Through Injury

With Golden Balls set to put his feet up with the rest of us this summer, Goal.com's Patrick Reilly ranks 10 stars who missed out on the World Cup through injury...
10) David Beckham (2010)
Barring a miracle England's most capped outfield player will have to be content
with 'just' the three World Cup appearances as he pulled up with an Achilles
tendon injury playing for Milan. He played through the pain barrier in 2002 when he clearly wasn't fully fit after breaking his second metatarsal, coining the name 'Beckham bone' and he limped off during England's eventual quarter-final defeat to Portugal in 2006.
9) Santiago Canizares (2002)
Bizarre. After years of playing second fiddle to Andoni Zubizarreta the Valencia
shot-stopper was given the number one shirt for 2002. Then he encountered a
bottle of aftershave, which, in uncharacteristic style, he dropped against his
bathroom sink, with a shard of glass severing a tendon in his big toe. He was
rushed to hospital and missed the entire tournament, giving rookie keeper Iker
Casillas a chance to make a name for himself with two saves in the penalty shoot-out against the Republic of Ireland in the second round.
8) Emerson (2002)
Got his break when Romario was omitted in 1998 and four years later he was
Brazil's skipper for the ultimately successful Japan/Korea campaign. However it was Cafu and not the then Roma midfielder who lifted the trophy as Emerson
dislocated his shoulder mucking around playing in goal in a practice match just
prior to the tournament, ensuring he was a spectator as Big Phil Scolari led his
unfancied outfit to a fifth World Cup.
7) Kenny Dalglish (1986)
It's fair to say that fellow Scots Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson aren't on
each other's Christmas card lists. Having inspired Liverpool to a memorable
double in his first season as player/manager the gifted forward was, even at 35, by far his country's best player. A mysterious ligament injury forced 'King
Kenny' to ring Fergie on the eve of the tournament saying he couldn't play,
infuriating the future Manchester United manager so much so that relations
between them are arctic 24 years on. Rumours persist that Kenny was angered that his close friend Alan Hansen had been dropped from the final squad but he has always maintained that he wasn't 100 per cent fit.



7) Kenny Dalglish (1986)
It's fair to say that fellow Scots Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson aren't on
each other's Christmas card lists. Having inspired Liverpool to a memorable
double in his first season as player/manager the gifted forward was, even at 35, by far his country's best player. A mysterious ligament injury forced 'King
Kenny' to ring Fergie on the eve of the tournament saying he couldn't play,
infuriating the future Manchester United manager so much so that relations
between them are arctic 24 years on. Rumours persist that Kenny was angered that his close friend Alan Hansen had been dropped from the final squad but he has always maintained that he wasn't 100 per cent fit.

6) Rene Bliard (1958)
The history books declare that Just Fontaine holds the record of the most goals
in a single World Cup with a whopping 13 in Sweden 1958. Fontaine only got his break after his Stade Reims striking partner Rene Bliard hurt his ankle in
training before a ball was kicked in anger, meaning he was forced to return to
France for treatment as Fontaine scored goals for fun, including four against
holders West Germany. Ouch!
5) Marco Van Basten (1994)
Milan's devastating striker put himself through hell to try to play a part in
Holland's 1994 World Cup in America. Having last played competitively a year
earlier in the Champions League final, van Basten underwent countless operations to try to be ready for Johan Cruyff's team of stars. By March of 1994 he had given up the ghost on medical advice, saying: "I know that I will never play soccer again without pain but I also know the day of my comeback is getting nearer." Tragically he was wrong and quit for good in 1995.


4) Roberto Bettega (1982)
Italy may have won in style back in Espana 1982 but they did so without one of their talismanic players - Roberto Bettega. An outstanding forward with Juventus, he picked up a knee ligament injury in a European match - ruling him out of the tournament where the once disgraced Paolo Rossi grabbed all the headlines and the Azzurri won a third World Cup.

3) Alfredo di Stefano (1962)
Perhaps the greatest player to never play in a World Cup finals, di Stefano
represented three different countries but his best chance came in 1962 with his adopted Spain. The Real Madrid legend helped La Roja qualify for the tournament but his last shot at glory was ruled out as he picked up a muscular injury during preparations, making him a reluctant spectator once again at football's global showpiece



2) Romario (1998)
The Ro-Ro partnership with Ronaldo made Brazil the red-hot favourites to retain their crown in France. Coach Mario Zagallo dropped a bombshell when he left controversial striker Romario at home on the eve of the tournament citing a muscular injury as his reason, which enraged the Brazilian nation. The striker stressed the knock was minor and he would recover in time, but that cut no slack with Zagallo, the two enjoying a feisty falling out.
1) Daniel Passarella (1986)
Argentina's inspirational captain from 1978 was a mysterious absence from the
victorious playing squad eight years later. No fan of Diego Maradona, he was hurt the captaincy was passed over to the number 10 and left the training camp in Mexico with the reason for his absence rumoured to be diarrhoea or a strange virus which made him lose a large amount of weight. Still a member of the squad, he remained on the sidelines with 'injury' the official version as El Diego ran riot and emulated Passarella's achievement of 1978.