France have announced that attacker Christopher Nkunku will miss the World Cup after picking up a knee sprain in training.
The 25-year-old came off worse in a collision with Eduardo Camavinga in Tuesday's session at Clairefontaine, going down clutching his lower leg after both men challenged for the ball.
Nkunku was surrounded by concerned teammates and staff members before being helped to his feet, with manager Didier Deschamps among those coming over to check on the RB Leipzig man.
Nkunku hobbled off to cheers and applause from the French fans in attendance, and it was initially reported that the attacker did not believe he had sustained a serious issue.
However, having now undergone scans on the problem, France have now confirmed that the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker has been forced to pull out of the World Cup.
Injured in training, Christopher Nkunku drops out of the World Cup. The whole group shares Christopher's sadness and wishes him a speedy recovery 💙 @c_nk97
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) November 15, 2022
#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/cnpEtH4476
A statement from the French Football Federation revealed that Nkunku had sustained a sprained knee in the incident with Camavinga, and Les Bleus have sent off the relevant medical information to FIFA in order to call up a replacement.
"Injured in training on Tuesday, Christopher Nkunku must give up participating in the World Cup," the statement on fff.fr read.
"Christopher Nkunku will not participate in the World Cup. The RB Leipzig striker left the training session on Tuesday before its end, injured in the left knee. The radiological examinations taken in the evening unfortunately revealed that it was a sprain.
"Didier Deschamps recorded Christopher Nkunku's package. A medical file has been sent to FIFA, a regulatory prerequisite for the replacement of an injured player in the group since the list was filed on Monday at 7pm.
"The name of Christopher Nkunku's replacement will be communicated once the medical file has been validated by FIFA. The whole group shares Christopher's sadness and wishes him a speedy recovery."
🇫🇷 Nkunku contraint de quitter l'entrainement des Bleus en boitant. pic.twitter.com/yJrL7yHP65
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) November 15, 2022
Nkunku joins a long list of notable injury absentees from the France squad, with Mike Maignan, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante also watching on from home this winter.
Since announcing his squad, Deschamps has also lost Presnel Kimpembe to an Achilles injury that he has not fully recovered from, with Axel Disasi being called up in his place.
Nkunku was set to enter the World Cup with two assists from eight caps to his name in a France shirt, but he is still waiting for his first senior international goal.
Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, Kingsley Coman and Marcus Thuram represent Deschamps's remaining attacking options, with the latter being added as a 26th player earlier this week.
France begin the defence of their World Cup title against Australia on November 22 before meeting Denmark on November 26 and Tunisia on November 30 in Group D.
Ben Knapton
