Which stars will miss out on the World Cup due to injury?

Every four years, footballers representing countries that qualify for the FIfa World Cup sweat over form, fitness and the risk of getting injured just before the showpiece gets under way.

With the World Cup just round the corner and the biggest club prizes up for grabs in the final weeks of the season for many top leagues, the choice between playing it safe and giving it your all can be the difference between catching the flight to the United States, Mexico and Canada or sitting at home regretting what might have been.

The list of players who are already out of the June 11-July 19 extravaganza is getting longer by the day and the latest to join that is Arsenal defender Ben White, who is out of contention after sustaining medial ligament damage. The Premier League leaders confirmed the injury on Tuesday and said the England international would be out for the rest of the season.

While White’s absence may not be felt as much on the pitch, fans of the game will be hoping that the likes of France’s Kylian Mbappe, Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah will recover from their injuries in time for their respective countries’ games.

The same, however, cannot be said of other well-known footballers who have already been ruled out. France's Hugo Ekitike sustained an Achilles injury in April that could take more than six months to fully recover, ruling him out of the tournament. Brazil stars Rodrygo and Éder Militão are definitely out. So is Bayern Munich and Germany forward Serge Gnabry after injuring his adductor in training.

Players and coaches have increasingly warned about the impact of an ever-packed playing schedule, and the expanded World Cup comes a year after the relaunched, supersized Club World Cup. The Champions League has also been expanded in recent years.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta describes the demand on players as "an accident waiting to happen."

For some, it has already happened; for others, it is an excruciating wait…

Players definitely ruled out of the World Cup

Argentina: Joaquín Panichelli (ACL)

Brazil: Éder Militão (hamstring), Rodrygo (ACL)

England: Ben White (medial ligament)

France: Hugo Ekitike (Achilles)

Germany: Serge Gnabry (adductor)

Netherlands: Xavi Simons (ACL)

United States: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Achilles), Patrick Agyemang (Achilles)

Ones to keep an eye on

Algeria: Goalkeeper Luca Zidane, the son of France icon Zinedine Zidane, is a doubt after a facial injury during an on-field collision last month.

Argentina: Cristian Romero has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury. It has not yet been confirmed if he is out of the World Cup, with Tottenham not giving a timeframe for his recovery.

Canada: Star left back Alphonso Davies injured his hamstring with just over a month to go before the tournament starts when he was hurt during Bayern Munich's exit to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals.

Croatia: Veteran midfielder Luka Modrić broke his cheekbone last month but is expected to be available for the World Cup. Defender Joško Gvardiol returned to training for Manchester City earlier in May after four months out with a broken leg.

Morocco: Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi has been sidelined with a right thigh injury.

United States: Midfielder Johnny Cardoso sprained his right ankle five weeks before the World Cup while training with Atletico Madrid.