A
host of big names as confirmed by 360topsgist will miss the World Cup
after succumbing to injury in the weeks leading up to the
tournament.Croatia's Niko Kranjcar
paid the price for his exertions in QPR's Championship play-off final
victory over Derby as he picked up a hamstring injury which will leave
him on the treatment table for much of the summer.Netherlands have been
hit the hardest of all the teams in Brazil, with Rafael van der Vaart
ruled out with a calf injury and joining Paris Saint-Germain right-back
Gregory van der Wiel and Roma's Kevin Strootman (both knee) on the
sidelines.Victor Valdes tore
his anterior cruciate ligament in what proved to be his last game for
Barcelona against Celta Vigo in March and Spain will also be without
Thiago Alcantara after the Bayern
Munich man underwent surgery on a knee ligament problem.England have already been robbed of the services of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.
The fleet-footed wideman ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during
an FA Cup clash with Tottenham in January, and will not be on the plane
to South America. Two other players who had high hopes of being named in Roy Hodgson's squad, Tottenham pair Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend, will spend the summer recovering from pelvic and ankle injuries respectively.
Colombia superstar Radamel Falcao seems unlikely to be
fit in time for the World Cup after tearing his ACL during Monaco's
Coupe de France encounter against Chasselay at the end of January. The
28-year-old has been named in his nation's squad regardless, but faces
an uphill struggle despite being ahead of schedule in his recovery.Germany duo Holger Badstuber and Ilkay Gundogan will
play no part in this summer's tournament. Bayern defender Badstuber has
been out with a cruciate ligament injury since November 2012 and it is
still not clear when he will return.
