it might happen...
and it's not even the first time it actually happens
in Rio, Italy didn't qualify the women's epee team despite having Fiamingo (undisputed no.1 in the world at that time, world champion and world cup champion in 2014 and 2015) and Navarria (who in 2016 was the no.2 in the world behind Fiamingo and had to miss those Olympic Games because of that same rule)
p.s. to qualify the team, it's not enough being a "reasonable" team, in Europe you generally need to be among the 5 best teams in the world to qualify (look at Germany in the men's team sabre...they're no.6 in the world and despite that, they're out)
fencing is one of the sports with the hardest qualifying pathways, it's easier to win a medal when you're in than qualifying for the Games