I would be surprised if Poletaev makes the final roster for world championship. He's just not getting to that form he's known for in the russian superleague.
I don't think the coach will cut him considering it's just roughly a week before WCH starts and I believe there is no one in the training camp who can replace him the team only brought 2 OPPS..
Without a doubt, Mikhaylov will be titular but maybe Poletaev can start in some games in the pool phase against "not so strong teams". Worst case, since Philippov has been cut, he can fill the role of serve specialist. I am a big fan of Poletaev as much as the next guy, and it seems his last injury did not affect his current performance but I think his real problem is he has yet to establish himself as a real starter in NT for an entire duration of a tournament and not being thrown into the sideline when you know who returns.