Laurent Koscielny has admitted that France have found it hard to deal with the absence of Franck Ribery.

The Bayern Munich winger was ruled out of the World Cup, after failing to overcome a back problem.

"It's always difficult to lose teammates to injury," he told FIFA's official website. "But given that Franck was our best player, it was even tougher this time.

"He's very important in the dressing room; he communicates well with everyone. His passion is crucial. But other players have come in and the atmosphere has remained very good, even though we still have to deal with those absences."

France begin their World Cup campaign with a clash against Honduras tomorrow evening.