After suffering a serious injury in Russia's debut against the Saudi Arabia team, it was confirmed that Alan Dzagoev will miss the entire group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
In response to this, and after learning that he will be absent for the matches against Egypt and Uruguay, Dzagoev said: "It is difficult to say something about the recovery time, and added that: "If God wills, we will advance to the group stage and maybe then I can play. The doctors say there is some hope."
Alan Dzagoev, who currently plays for CSKA Moscow, expressed sadness at "missing the most important tournament" and hopes to "still have the opportunity to play", which would only happen if Russia qualifies for the knockout stage of the World Cup.
The confirmation of Dzagoev's absence comes two days before Russia's match against the Egypt national team, in the second match of Group A of the 2018 World Cup, a match that will possibly feature the presence of Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah.