South Korea captain Son Heung-min said he is unsure if he can play in all their matches at the World Cup after undergoing surgery this month to stabilise a fracture around his left eye.
Son was included in South Korea's squad for the tournament despite suffering a fractured eye socket playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League earlier this month.
The 30-year-old midfielder, who will wear a protective mask during South Korea's matches in Qatar, had his first training session with the team in Doha on Wednesday.
"I'm not a doctor. It's difficult for me to say when I can play," Son, whose side begin their campaign in Group H against Uruguay on 24 November, told reporters.
"I'll do the best I can under the circumstances. But it's tough for me to say right now that I will play every game.
"From the fans' perspective, I may be pushing this too far. But football players always compete under such risks. I just want to give our fans joy and hope. I'm more than willing to bear those risks."
Son said he was getting used to playing with the mask on and that the swelling on his face had reduced.
"These carbon masks are really light and they likely won't break," Son said. "And if a mask breaks, it means something has happened to my face. So I hope it doesn't come to that."
Christopher Nkunku ruled out for France
France have been dealt another injury blow after Christopher Nkunku (above) was ruled out of the World Cup .
The RB Leipzig forward limped out of training on Tuesday and tests have confirmed he will play no part in the tournament.
The World Cup holders were already without Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante due to injury while Raphael Varane is trying to recover from an issue in time to be fit to play.
Reported Chelsea target Nkunku had enjoyed a fine first half of the campaign, scoring 12 goals to sit top of the scoring charts in Germany.
Didier Deschamps has called up Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani as a replacement and he will join up with the squad in Doha on Thursday.
Kolo Muani has scored eight times since moving to Germany this summer and was preferred to Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial.
France will be in Group D in Qatar with Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. They start their campaign against Australia on 22 November at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Mane doubtful for 'first games'
Senegal forward Sadio Mane will miss the "first games" of the World Cup in Qatar due to injury, a Senegal soccer federation official was quoted as saying by local media.
The 30-year-old striker was named last week in Senegal's 26-man squad for the World Cup, which starts on Sunday, despite picking up an injury to his right fibula playing for Bayern Munich in the run-up to the tournament.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said Mane, whose decisive penalties secured the Africa Cup of Nations title and World Cup qualification for his country this year, did not require surgery but hopes of him lining up against the Netherlands on 21 November appear slim.
"We will have to rely on playing the first games without Sadio and win without Sadio because we have 25 players apart from Sadio," official Abdoulaye Sow said.
"No one would have wanted it, but that's what's happened to us."
Senegal also face hosts Qatar on 25 November and Ecuador on 29 November in World Cup Group A.
Increased injury risk at World Cup says players union
Footballers heading to this month's World Cup in Qatar face increased risk of injury and stress due to a packed schedule, global players' union FIFPRO has said in a report.
The report highlighted the lack of recovery time that players will have upon the conclusion of the World Cup.
Europe's top leagues have just entered a mid-season break to accommodate the tournament in Qatar, which runs from 20 November to 18 December.
The English Premier League is set to resume on St Stephen's Day - just eight days after the World Cup final, compared with breaks before national leagues resumed of 26 days and 34 days after the 2018 and 2014 editions respectively.
"After a packed first half to the current league season, the average preparation and recovery time for many players will be seven and eight days, respectively, about four times less than usual," the report said.
"This is likely to increase the risk of muscle injuries and mental stress. Significantly reduced preparation and recovery periods before and after this World Cup pose an ominous threat to player health and hinder performance optimisation."
The report also analysed the workload of players between July 2021 and October 2022, finding that members of Portugal's squad have the most cumulative minutes on the field out of all the 32 teams at the World Cup, followed by Brazil and Mexico.
Liverpool and Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk topped the charts for most minutes played during the time period analysed, with 7,597 minutes on the field. Joao Cancelo, Sadio Mane, Antonio Ruediger and Harry Kane are the other footballers to have played more than 7,200 minutes.
"The data emphasises the mental and physical strain many national team players are facing because of a congested match calendar that does not properly consider their health and performance," FIFPRO deputy general secretary Simon Colosimo said.
England arrive in Qatar
England's squad have touched down in Qatar ahead of their latest attempt to end the nation's long wait for a major trophy with captain Harry Kane saying they are trending in the right direction.
Four year's after reaching the World Cup semi-finals in Russia, England are tipped as one of the favourites for the tournament in Qatar despite a poor run of form.
"We've been trending well in major tournaments so there's only one more step to take and hopefully we can take it this time," Tottenham Hotspur striker Kane, who led the team to the Euro 2020 finals last year, told the BBC on arrival in Doha.
"It's exciting, stranger than usual thinking that we're going to be playing in about five or six days.
Excitement is building among everyone. Happy to be here and looking forward to being out on the training pitch tomorrow."
England were greeted by fans wearing replica shirts and carrying St George’s flags when they arrived at their base, the Souq Al Wakra hotel.
‘It’s Coming Home’ and the less familiar ‘Gareth Southgate super coach’ were among the chants from supporters, many of whom were of Indian descent.
The fans strongly denied any suggestion they had been paid by organisers to welcome the team.
"We are not paid," said one fan, who wished to remain anonymous. "Even if someone offered money to us for loving England we would rather tell them to get lost."
Organisers also hit back at reports that fake fans have been employed to greet teams.
"Fans from all over the world – many of whom have made Qatar their home – have contributed to the local atmosphere recently, organising fan walks and parades throughout the country, and welcoming the various national teams at their hotels," a statement read.
"Numerous journalists and commentators on social media have questioned whether these are 'real' fans. We thoroughly reject these assertions, which are both disappointing and unsurprising.
"Qatar, and the rest of the world, is comprised of a diverse range of football fans, many of whom share emotional connections with multiple nations.
"In different places around the world, fans have different traditions, different ways to celebrate, and while that may contrast with what people are used to in Europe or South America, it doesn't mean the passion for football is any less authentic.
"Journalists on the ground who speak and meet these fans are realising the reality."
Jimenez in contention for Mexico
Mexico forward Raul Jimenez, who has been sidelined since August due to a groin injury, will play in their last warm-up friendly before the World Cup against Sweden on Wednesday, head coach Gerardo Martino said.
The Argentinean coach included the Wolverhampton Wanderers forward in his 26-man squad despite him playing only four matches this season for the Premier League club.
"The decision (to include Jimenez) was taken based on the evolution he has had and what we talked about with the medical staff," Martino told reporters on Tuesday.
"His performance (in training) has been quite good, so yes, he will surely have minutes tomorrow against Sweden," the coach added.
Martino added that the main objective of the match was to prepare the players for their World Cup opener against Poland, who he says are similar in their style of play to Sweden.
"Sweden is somewhat similar to Poland in terms of quick transitions. They could be similar traits but they are not exactly the same," Martino said. "The gamble tomorrow is to have our players ready."
Mexico will kick off their World Cup campaign against Poland on 22 November, followed by Group C games against Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
Depay fit for World Cup but might not face Senegal
Netherlands striker Memphis Depay has declared himself fit for the World Cup, alleviating concerns that he might miss the tournament in Qatar, although he is not certain to start their first game on Monday.
Depay trained with the team, who put in a session on Tuesday just hours after arriving in Qatar for the tournament, having struggled with a hamstring injury for two months.
"Training has gone very well. I could do everything I do in a match, only then of course you go full for 90 minutes, over longer distances," he told reporters.
Depay must now wait to see whether Louis van Gaal risks starting him against Senegal in their opening Group A match.
Van Gaal places high value on player fitness but in the build-up to the World Cup made clear he would make exceptions in picking Depay and his Barcelona colleague Frankie de Jong, who Van Gaal regards as the team’s most essential players.
The coach last week did say said Depay might have to come off the bench against Senegal.
"It's not really about whether I agree with the national coach," said Depay in response. "It's about his vision, about what's best for the team and for me. I want to contribute, not one game, but the whole tournament. I also have to be honest: sometimes I need to be protected from myself a little. I want so much."
Depay hurt his hamstring playing for the Dutch against Poland in the Nations League in September and his recovery took longer than expected.
"Mentally that has been tough.. I've struggled the past few weeks, but I've done everything I can to get fit. That's part of being an athlete, it's my job. But there is more to it than just training, especially mentally," Depay added.
Follow every game from the 2022 FIFA World Cup via live blogs on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, or watch live on RTÉ Television and RTÉ Player, starting with Qatar v Ecuador on Sunday from 2.30pm
