Players gripped by injury fear as World Cup draws near

By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The distress on Raphael Varane’s face said it all. The Manchester United and France defender couldn’t hide his emotions as he feared his World Cup hopes were dead. Earlier this month Tottenham and Brazil striker Richarlison cut a similarly distressed figure when suffering a calf injury. Both Varane and Richarlison have since been given hope they could yet make Qatar with neither injury as serious as first feared. But their reactions underlined the pressure being felt by players as the World Cup draws closer.