With high-profile names seeming to be dropping like flies recently, the World Cup has been losing its star players with increasing regularity over the past few days. Marco Reus is the latest among them to be sidelined with an injury, joining Columbia’s Falcao and France winger Frank Ribery as the other two high-profile names sitting out the tournament. Not to mention two more star players in Christiano Ronaldo and Luis Saurez who are rushing to regain fitness before the tournament starts – both could miss out in their respective opening games at least. With that said, let’s look at the players in line to replace them in the starting line-ups and what they can do for your World Cup Fantasy team.

Replacing Reus

Marco Reus was meant to be Germany’s main goal threat this summer. The Dortmund star had excelled last season with 23 goals and 23 assists across all competitions. He scored five goals in qualification for the national team and was one of Germany’s few star players currently in form and injury free heading into the big tournament. An ankle injury sustained in a friendly against Armenia means he will miss the World Cup.

The next player in line to replace him is Andre Schurrle, who had a good debut season at Chelsea, notching eight times as he became a favourite of Mourinho’s towards the end of the season, even being deployed as a false 9 on a couple of occasions. This versatility is what makes him vital to the national team’s plans and Loew had already been using a false 9 in the form of Gotze with the likes of Muller, Reus and even Schurrle rotating from the wings to play as the lone striker throughout the game. In fact, Schurrle’s stats are very comparable to Reus’ during qualifying, with four goals in six appearances (only two starts) compared to Reus’ five in his six starts. The wildcard option is that current false 9 Gotze moves to a more comfortable left attacking midfield role with Schurrle as the false 9. The fact that Schurrle has played in the false 9 and was already being lined up to play a big part for the team in that formation this summer means he should top the queue of replacements for Reus.

Replacing Falcao

Falcao was Colombia’s talisman during qualification, scoring nine times. His place in the side was always under pressure as an injury sustained in January kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season. With a week to go before the tournament Jose Pekerman decided to cut the Monaco front man from his 23-man squad, meaning there is an opening to fill.

Pekerman likes to play two up top and throughout qualifiers it was Teofilo Gutierez who provided the perfect foil to Falcao throughout qualifiers scoring six goals in the process and should keep his place. One area Columbia do not lack options is in attack, with Jackson Martinez, Carlos Bacca and Luis Muriel the contenders to replace Falcao. Jackson Martinez will be the favourite to replace Falcao in the line-up  as he played in seven of the qualifiers, whilst other forwards Bacca and Muriel had to be content with substitute cameo roles combining for just five appearances. Allied with his fantastic form for Porto this year Martinez looks set to start up top and could be good mid priced forward for fantasy lineups.

Replacing Ribery

Franck Ribery’s exit from the squad was a shock to say the least, he had been suffering from a back injury and had missed both of France’s friendly games but all reports just days before said he was nearly back to fitness and had resume training. Ribery was a star for France during their qualification campaign, he provided the most assists with six and was top scorer with five.

Other players will have to step up and Valbuena will be the man France turn to. Valbuena was second only to Ribery with five assists over qualification. It is now up to him to provide the flair and spark for the French team as he goes past players with ease and will send in tantalising crosses for team mates to finish. He provided three assists in one game in a recent friendly win against Norway. Deschamps stills needs to choose a replacement for Ribery, fortunately he has ready made one in Antoine Griezmann, he has played fantastically well for Real Sociedad this season scoring 16 and assisting three. He played in Ribery’s position on the left-flank in both recent friendlies and scored his first international goal against Paraguay. He will surely in the mid-priced bracket and in an easy group that France should breeze through, so Griezmann would be a worthy addition to Fantasy teams.

Replacing Ronaldo

Let’s get this straight – the Portuguese do not have anyone capable of “replacing” Ronaldo in their squad. The current Ballon D’Or holder is irreplaceable, but if he doesn’t make the opening game, it will be Varela lining up in on the left flank in the captain’s place. The young winger scored at Euro 2012 but was mainly utilised as sub with all three appearances coming via the bench. He made seven appearances in qualifying, scoring twice more showing that he has an eye for a goal. A strong showing in the opening game won’t keep Ronaldo out of the starting line-up when fit, but it could see Varela steal Nani’s starting spot on the right, with the Manchester united winger struggling for form having barely played this season. Varela could be a worth a gamble on games that utilise bench players.

Replacing Suarez

A fantastic season for Suarez saw him score 31 times for Liverpool, but his shock surgery to repair meniscus tissue in his left knee has left his participation in the opening game in question. Even going forward, Suarez surely won’t be at full fitness throughout the tournament. The obvious man to replace him will be Diego Forlan – once the main man for Uruguay, he was set to be used as a supersub or play as a number 10 behind the duo of Saurez and Cavani. With Suarez’ participation now in doubt, Forlan will be thrust back into the forefront of Oscar Tabarez’ plans. With the opening game against group whipping boys Costa Rica, Tabarez and Uruguay will be looking to score as many goals as possible in a group that could be conceivably decided by goal difference. Forlan will now play a big part in that game, and with the penalty duties to boost his appeal, he could worth the one-week gamble at the very least.