Injury Curse Threatens French Dream in 2022 World Cup

French national football team forward Christopher Nkunku has joined the list of injured players in his team, which includes Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kanté, Mike Maignan, and Presnel Kimpembe. The leading scorer in the German league with Leipzig is suffering from a sprained left knee, as announced by the French federation on the eve of the blue team’s departure to Qatar on Wednesday morning. The federation has not announced the identity of the replacement following the submission of the official 26-player list to FIFA. Although his participation as a starter was not expected, Nkunku could have played a significant role as a substitute. Nkunku, who turned 25 on Monday, was named the best player in the German league last season. In the final training session for coach Didier Deschamps' squad before traveling to Doha, Nkunku was involved in a collision with teammate midfielder Eduardo Camavinga. Meanwhile, seasoned team forward Karim Benzema, the world's best player, did not complete a full training session after returning from injury, similar to defender Raphael Varane. France will play their first match on the 22nd against Australia.