CanMNT defender Scott Kennedy to miss World Cup with shoulder injury
By Chris Smith
Canada defender Scott Kennedy will miss the 2022 World Cup due to a shoulder injury.
Kennedy has eight senior caps to his name so far, all of which came during the CanMNT's World Cup qualifying campaign.
The 25-year-old center-back was almost certain to be named to John Herdman's roster for Qatar but will now miss Canada's first World Cup appearance since 1986 after injuring his shoulder in the seventh minute of Jahn Regensburg's 3-0 defeat to Hansa Rostock on Saturday.
“He was devastated this morning,” Herdman told reporters on Wednesday. “He will be a big loss to this group on and off the field. Just one of those tough moments as a coach where you’ve got to share that grim reality with someone.”
Kennedy is not the only player to fall foul of injury ahead of this mid-season World Cup. Tottenham forward Son Heung-min's participation is in doubt due to a fractured eye socket, while on Wednesday, Chelsea full-back Ben Chilwell appeared to suffer a hamstring injury during a Champions League tie with Dinamo Zagreb.
Meanwhile, the likes of Gini Wijnaldum, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, and Diogo Jota are already confirmed as absent for the tournament.
A few more nervous weeks remain as national team head coaches pray their key players avoid injury while on club duty.
“Every game we’re monitoring you’ve just got that sort of pit in your stomach that you’re going to lose a critical player but it’s going to happen,” Herdman said.
“Every weekend you’re dreading it. One part is you’re going to miss some quality from the team, but the next part is just knowing the pain that those players are going to go through.”
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