CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU is OUT of the World Cup after he sustained an injury in France training.
The RB Leipzig star limped out of Les Bleus’ session at their Clairefontaine base after being on the end of a late challenge.
Training footage obtained by French outlet RMC Sport appears to show Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga inadvertently catching Nkunku late in a 50-50 tackle.
The attacker immediately showed his discomfort, sitting on the ground and shaking his hand at the pain.
Chelsea target Nkunku appeared to be caught on the ankle by the late challenge.
He was initially said to be confident that he would still be able to make the trip to Qatar.
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But, following medical tests, France have confirmed that Nkunku will miss the tournament.
In a short statement, they wrote: “Injured in training, Christopher Nkunku must give up participating in the World Cup.
“The whole group shares Christopher’s sadness and wishes him a speedy recovery.”
The French squad are set to fly out to the Middle East tomorrow.
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France get their World Cup campaign underway with a clash against Australia next Tuesday in Al Wakrah.
A match against Denmark will follow that Saturday, before they round off their Group D campaign with a game vs Tunisia on November 30.
France boss Didier Deschamps has already had to tinker with his squad.
After initially only naming 25 players, Deschamps decided to call up Marcus Thuram as his 26th man.
Following an injury to Presnel Kimpembe, he also opted to call up uncapped Monaco defender Axel Disasi.
French outlet RMC Sport claim that Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani is set to be called up as a late replacement for Nkunku.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
