Zinedine Zidane has suffered a fresh blow in the France camp. Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni was forced out of "Les Bleus" training before it finished today, Tuesday, with an injury to his groin area.
French newspaper "L'Équipe" report that Tchouaméni underwent medical tests to determine the nature and severity of the injury, amid fears he could leave the national team camp and miss France's two Nations League matches against Italy and Turkey.
It all follows the loss of Pierre Kalulu and Marcus Thuram, who have both dropped out of Zidane's plans. Now the France manager faces the prospect of losing a third player within a few hours, ahead of the eagerly awaited clash against Italy the day after tomorrow, Thursday, and then the Turkey match on Sunday.
France ruled Kalulu out yesterday evening, Monday, and called up Wolfsburg's Maxence Lacroix in his place. Thuram then dropped out of the squad today, Tuesday, with Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi coming in.
Tchouaméni could not complete the session at Clairefontaine after feeling pain in his groin area. The technical and medical staff decided to put him through additional tests to determine whether he can stay with the national team.
His participation in the next two matches remains in doubt until the results come back. Everything now hinges on whether the injury allows him to continue in the camp, or whether Zidane will be forced to rule him out too.