Paulo Dybala suffers freak injury while taking Roma penalty - could miss 2022 World Cup | OneFootball

Argentina’s Paulo Dybala looks set to miss the 2022 World Cup after suffering a freak injury while taking a penalty for AS Roma vs Leece on Sunday.

Dybala scored the penalty to put Roma 2-1 up, following earlier goals from Chris Smalling and Gabriel Strefezza, but immediately pulled up in pain. He knew something was wrong.

The forward was surrounded by his concerned teammates before receiving treatment. He was unable to continue the match and looked crushed as he took a seat in the dugout.

What happened to Dybala?

It looked innocuous from the replays but Dybala clearly twisted something in his leg while striking the ball.

The 28-year-old, who has scored seven goals in 11 appearances for Roma since joining the club from Juventus in the summer, was seen with an ice pack on his left leg after being replaced by Nemanja Matic.

Video: Dybala suffers injury while taking Roma penalty

Watch the incident here:

Dybala’s face said it all.

What has Jose Mourinho said about Dybala’s injury?

Roma boss Jose Mourinho described Dybala’s injury as “very bad” and doesn’t expect to see the forward back in action until 2023.

“I say bad, but I think very, very bad. I am not a doctor, but in my experience, and speaking to Paulo, it’s unlikely we’ll see him this year,” Mourinho told DAZN, per Football Italia.

Will Dybala be fit for the 2022 World Cup?

Based on Mourinho’s early assessment, it seems that Dybala has very little chance of being fit for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which gets underway on November 20.

Dybala may not have been a guaranteed starter for Argentina but he would have been a great option off the bench.

He scored Argentina’s third goal against Italy in the 2022 Finalissima at Wembley in June as a late substitute.

Argentina, who are unbeaten since July 2019, head into this winter’s World Cup as one of the favourites to lift football’s most iconic trophy.

Who do Argentina play at the 2022 World Cup?

Argentina, led by their legendary captain Lionel Messi, will be expected to comfortably secure qualification from their World Cup group.

Lionel Scaloni’s side begin their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22 before facing Mexico (November 26) and Poland (November 30).

Argentina, who reached the 2014 World Cup final, are hoping to become world champions for the first time since Diego Maradona inspired the South American nation to glory in 1986.