Didier Deschamps has confirmed that Franck Ribéry will miss the 2014 World Cup. The Bayern Munich winger becomes the latest in a long list of players ruled out due to injury.
Earlier today, it seemed as though Ribéry would be able to make it to Brazil. Struggling with a back problem, he’d been training separately from the rest of the France squad. On Friday morning, he practiced with the team for the first time.
However, in that training session, Ribéry’s injury grew worse: “An MRI scan confirmed the sudden worsening of his condition and led the medical staff to conclude his inability to train and play,” said a France Football Federation statement.
The 31-year-old earned his first senior cap for les bleus in 2006, and has since been capped 80 times, scoring 16 goals in the process. He was part of the 2006 World Cup squad that made it to the final, as well as the 2010 squad that sorely disappointed in South Africa.
In addition to Ribéry, Lyon midfielder Clément Grenier has also been ruled out with injury. Deschamps will turn to his seven-man replacement list, and it is believed he will select Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin to replace Grenier and Montpellier’s Rémy Cabella for Ribéry.
