World Cup 2022 Starting Lineups: Notable Injury News and Potential Replacements

Injuries have been a major storyline surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

A slew of top players have either been ruled out of the competition already, or they will miss the start of the tournament.

Reigning champion France is dealing with some of the worst injury issues of any of the 32 teams. Les Bleus went to Qatar without N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Presnel Kimpembe.

Didier Deschamps' squad lost forwards Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema in the last week. Benzema's departure was confirmed on Saturday.

France still has Kylian Mbappe and a slew of high-profile starts in the squad, but it may be vulnerable in certain spots in Group D against Denmark, Tunisia and Australia.

Germany, Senegal and Belgium are among the other countries dealing with significant injuries. Timo Werner is out for Germany, Sadio Mane will not play for Senegal and Romelu Lukaku might not play in the group stage for Belgium.

France suffered two blows to its World Cup squad in the last week.

Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku were ruled out of the World Cup with injuries. Nkuknu suffered his in training. Benzema was dealing with an injury at Real Madrid and his condition got worse in Les Bleus training.

France still has Kylian Mbappe up front to score the majority of the goals. Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have 91 international goals between them as well.

The attacking depth is not lacking yet for Les Bleus. They also have Ousmane Dembele, Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani available at forward.

France should still manage its way through Group D because its attacking talent is better than what Tunisia and Australia can produce on the field. .

The bigger concern could come in the middle of the park, where N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba will be absent because of injury. Presnel Kimpembe is also missing in midfield.

France should still be solid on the back line, but its midfield has some questions because Kante has been so reliable in the midfield.

Aurelien Tchouameni, Youssouf Fofana and Adrien Rabiot are among the midfielders that can help make up for Kante's absence.

France would prefer a Group D victory because a second-place finish may match it up with Argentina in the round of 16.

The last thing France needs is for Lionel Messi and Co. to be carving up its midfield in the first knockout-round contest.

Belgium will be without Romelu Lukaku for at least the first two matches of the World Cup.

The 68-time goal scorer in international play is a huge miss for the Red Devils, who advanced to the semifinals four years ago in Russia.

Lukaku is one of the most powerful strikers in the world. His physical presence gives Belgium a huge edge in the final third.

Michy Batshuayi is the likely replacement up top for Lukaku. The Fenerbahce striker owns 26 international goals and he carries similar qualities to the top forward in Belgium's talent pool.

Belgium should also have a heavier reliance on Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and others to add goals in Group F to avoid a let down against Canada and Morocco.

Croatia is the biggest challenger to Belgium on paper in Group F and the Red Devils could have Lukaku available in some capacity for the group finale between the two sides.

Belgium's goal must be to get four or six points out of the games against Canada and Morocco without Lukaku in order to feel as safe as possible no matter what happens against Croatia.

England comes into Qatar without a few of its best defenders.

The Three Lions lost Reece James and Ben Chilwell in the buildup to the World Cup and they do not have Kyle Walker at 100 percent in the Middle East.

The defensive depth will be tested throughout the World Cup, but the Three Lions do have the luxury of putting Ben White on the field. White has been a solid piece in Arsenal's run to the top of the English Premier League.

England has a few other capable defenders within its ranks to deal with any threats that come from the United States, Wales and Iran in Group B.

Gareth Southgate's side is expected to win Group B as it sets its sights on much larger goals in the second half of the tournament.

The Three Lions should be able to deal as well as they can with the injury absences because White and others are in the 26-man squad.

Senegal is dealing with one of the biggest World Cup injury absences.

Sadio Mane suffered a leg injury days before leaving for Qatar while playing for Bayern Munich.

Mane has 33 goals in 92 international appearances. No other forward in the Senegal squad has more than 10 international goals.

Watford's Ismaila Sarr has the most international appearances of the current forwards on the Senegal roster. He has 10 goals in 48 caps.

It will be difficult for Senegal to replace the impact that Mane would have on and off the field and it will likely take a group effort to take over his projected output in Qatar.

Even without Mane, Senegal still has an opportunity to get into the knockout round from Group A which also features the Netherlands, Ecuador and Qatar.

After all, this is the reigning African Cup of Nations champion we are talking about. Senegal can get through the group stage with its strong defending, led by the Chelsea pair of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and defender Kalidou Koulibaly.