Less than a week after he scored Uruguay's only two goals against Portugal in a last-16 showdown, 31-year-old Edinson Cavani is reportedly doubtful to play Friday's World Cup quarterfinal match against France with a left calf injury. Cavani, who was helped off the pitch by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 74th minute of Uruguay's showdown against Portugal, was the biggest factor in a 2-1 win for La Celeste.
On Wednesday, Cavani missed his third straight day of training while his left leg gets treated, but did return to the field on Thursday for some light work off to the side. Cavani, of Paris Saint-Germain, is Uruguay's biggest name outside of Luis Suarez, and his loss would be huge against a Les Bleus team that features one of the best attacking duos in soccer right now with Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe, not to mention Antoine Griezmann, who has been outstanding.
According to ESPN, reports indicate that Christian Stuani would be the top option to take Cavani's spot on the final third. However, Cristian Rodriguez is also on the table for Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez.
Nevertheless, Suarez has his concerns about playing without Cavani:
Luis Suarez is concerned about facing France without Edinson Cavani.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 4, 2018
Story: https://t.co/UEG2n2PYq4 pic.twitter.com/Yus2oVLm0J
However, Suarez added that "there are players who can do it in the same way, and we hope even better than him. Things don't depend on just one player. Uruguay have shown we depend on collective work on the pitch," per Goal.com.
Here is Cavani working off to the side during Thursday's practice:
Las ilusiones celestes de tres millones de almas están más vivas que nunca: Edinson Cavani trotó en la cancha y sigue avanzando en su recuperación 🇺🇾⚽️💪
— Teledoce 📺 (@teledoce) July 5, 2018
¡Vamos, Uruguay! #MundialxLaTele pic.twitter.com/09oV1H7JS3
Only allowed first 15 min of training ... but Cavani is on the pitch working with trainer individually. No signs of limping. #Uruguay #worldcup @FOXSoccer pic.twitter.com/KTUkTc0eEo
— Jenny Taft (@JennyTaft) July 5, 2018
While it is true that Uruguay played three matches without Cavani in the South American qualifiers, it's also worth noting that Cavani finished with 10 goals in the 15 matches he did play, making him the leading scorer qualifying cycle.
Uruguay has given up just one goal in this entire Cup, and Cavani could still surprise and play yet. Cavani's calf injury is swelling, rather than a tear, but it is still causing him considerable pain according to a statement made by the Uruguay football federation on Monday.
Losing Cavani would be huge for Uruguay, which needs all the scoring it can get against the potent French lineup. La Celeste will play Les Bleus on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. You can stream every World Cup match on fuboTV (Try for free).