Injury tracker: Latest news on Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, Neymar

The 2026 World Cup finally gets underway this week, but some of the tournament’s biggest names face a race against time to be fit.

The 23rd edition of FIFA’s showpiece event returns to its post-season slot, which has heightened injury risks for players in the red zone.

Unlike in Qatar four years ago, the 2026 World Cup will include stars who have already clocked major minutes across the past 12 months.

Virgil van Dijk has played 5,841 minutes for club and country since June 2025, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.

The Liverpool captain is fit to lead out the Netherlands in north America as things stand, but several others aren’t so lucky.

talkSPORT.com runs through all the latest injury news surrounding all 48 nations at the World Cup – with a focus on the biggest names.

Lamine Yamal

The 18-year-old is expected to be fit to feature in Spain’s opening World Cup game against Cape Verde on June 15.

Yamal suffered a hamstring injury playing for Barcelona in April, which ruled him out for the rest of his club’s season.

However, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has revealed that Yamal, as well as Nico Williams and Victor Munoz, are all ready for their country’s World Cup opener.

“If there are no setbacks in the coming days, we expect them to be ⁠available on the 15th,” the La Roja boss said.

Lionel Messi

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner gave defending World Cup champions Argentina a major injury scare last month.

The 38-year-old suffered a muscle strain while playing for ⁠Inter Miami in a 6-4 Major League Soccer win over Philadelphia Union in late-May.

“Leo is doing well; he’s already trained with the group ⁠for part of the session, and that’s significant. He’s no longer training ⁠separately,” Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said last weekend.

“He is improving a lot and could even take part in one of the (warm-up) matches for a few minutes. We’ll see whether it’s this one or the next, but he’s much better and that gives us peace of mind.”

Messi was an unused substitute in Argentina’s 2-0 friendly win over Honduras on Sunday, but is likely to return against Iceland in Alabama on Wednesday, with la Albiceleste kicking off the defence of their World Cup crown next Monday.

Neymar

The 34-year-old earned a dramatic recall into Carlo Ancelotti’s 26-man squad despite not playing for his country for nearly three years.

Brazil’s all-time leading scorer ruptured his ACL against Uruguay in October 2023 and hasn’t played international football since.

Neymar worked his way back to fitness at boyhood club Santos, and was in tears as he was called up, but he hasn’t played since May 17 due to a calf issue, which has also kept him from training with A Seleção.

“I think his situation is quite clear,” Ancelotti said of Neymar on Friday. “He’s doing a great job on his own.

“After the weekend, he’ll have an MRI scan, and then, if everything goes well, he can train with the squad next week.”

Alphonso Davies

The Bayern Munich star is Canada’s headline name, but injuries have kept him from featuring for his country since March 2025.

A fresh hamstring problem sustained in Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in April put his World Cup involvement in doubt.

The 25-year-old was deemed fit enough by Jesse Marsch to be included in Canada’s squad, but he is likely to miss their first game.

“We understand how important the first game is, but we understand recovery is always an important thing. If I’m recovering as good as possible, let’s see. If not, then there’s no need to rush, just keep continuing the recovery,” Davies told media last week.

“Anything is possible in life. For me, it depends on how the recovery is going, how these next few days or this week leading up to the game goes.”

Who will miss the World Cup through injury?

Hugo Ekitiké, France (Torn Achilles tendon)

Estêvão, Brazil (Torn hamstring)

Rodrygo, Brazil (Torn ACL and meniscus)

Éder Militão, Brazil (Torn hamstring)

Serge Gnabry, Germany (Torn adductor)

Lennart Karl, Germany (Torn thigh muscle)

Marc-André ter Stegen, Germany (Torn thigh muscle)

Xavi Simons, Netherlands (Torn ACL)

Matthijs de Ligt, Netherlands (Back)

Fermín López, Spain (Metatarsal fracture)