Days after Presnel Kimpembé was ruled out of the FIFA World Cup, France has been dealt with yet another blow. This comes after the withdrawal of midfielder Christopher Nkunku owing to a knee injury.
According to reports, the 23-year-old suffered the injury during a training session on Tuesday. Nkunku had a nasty collision with Real Madrid starlet Eduardo Camavinga.
Nkunku joins the likes of N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, who miss the prestigious tournament due to different injuries.
INCOMING REPLACEMENT
In a statement, the French Football Federation said: “Christopher Nkunku will not participate in the World Cup.
“The RB Leipzig forward left Tuesday’s training session before the end after injuring his left knee.
“The scans taken in the evening, unfortunately, revealed that it was a sprain.
“Didier Deschamps has recorded the withdrawal of Nkunku. A medical file was sent to FIFA, a regulatory prerequisite in order to replace an injured player in the squad following the submission of the squad list on Monday.”
Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani is said to be the incoming replacement for the injured star.
The Les Bleus were looking forward to benefiting from Nkunku’s rich vein of form. He has scored 12 times in 15 Bundesliga appearances this season.
Nkunku is the latest Frenchman to be struck off the FIFA World Cup list due to injury. The 26-year-old defender was replaced by Axel Disasi of AS Monaco as he considered himself not ‘sufficiently recovered’ for the competition.
The FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday, 20 November, with France drafted in Group D along with Denmark, Tunisia and Australia.
FRANCE’S FIFA WORLD CUP SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS
Alphonse Areola [West Ham], Hugo Lloris Tottenham [Tottenham], Steve Mandanda [Rennes]
DEFENDERS
Axel Disasi [Monaco], Lucas Hernandez [Bayern Munich], Theo Hernandez [AC Milan], Ibrahima Konate [Liverpool], Jules Kounde [Barcelona], Benjamin Pavard [Bayern Munich], William Saliba [Arsenal], Dayot Upamecano [Bayern Munich], Raphael Varane [Manchester United]
MIDFIELDERS
Eduardo Camavinga [Real Madrid], Youssouf Fofana [AS Monaco], Matteo Guendouzi [Marseille], Adrien Rabiot [Juventus], Aurelien Tchouameni [Real Madrid], Jordan Veretout [Marseille]
FORWARDS
Karim Benzema [Real Madrid], Ousmane Dembele [Barcelona], Kingsley Coman [Bayern Munich], Olivier Giroud [AC Milan], Antoine Griezmann [Atletico Madrid], Kylian Mbappe [PSG], Marcus Thuram [Bor. M’Gladbach].
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