Midfielder Amandine Henry will not participate in the Women’s World Cup, which begins on July 20 in Australia, after suffering a muscle injury in her left calf. She will be replaced by alternate Aïssatou Tounkara.
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Less than two weeks before the start of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the ‘Bleues’ – as the French team is known – have suffered a setback. Midfielder Amandine Henry (93 caps), called up by coach Hervé Renard after more than two years of absence, has withdrawn from the World Cup due to a calf injury, the French Football Federation announced on Friday, July 7.
The former ‘Bleues’ captain, who was injured in training on Wednesday, has been replaced by Aïssatou Tounkara in the team that will leave for Australia on Saturday, two weeks before the tournament opener against Jamaica in Sydney on 23 July.
This is yet another big disappointment for the 33-year-old, long sidelined by her previous coach Corinne Diacre, and called up at the last minute by Hervé Renard for the competition in Oceania.
Since the beginning of the concentration, on June 20 in Clairefontaine, the coaching staff of the French team had taken the situation of the defensive midfielder calmly, who has been out since the beginning of March due to a knee injury and then due to medical leave. taken “for personal reasons”.
Lost against Ireland
The Angel City (USA) newcomer, a former OL star with seven Champions League titles under his belt, felt quite sharp pain during training on Wednesday in Dublin, forcing him to pull out of Thursday’s game against Ireland (3-0).
“Now it’s going to be difficult,” declared a pessimistic Hervé Renard after the game. There will be medical examinations, “but normally we know what to expect, it will not be available and it will have to be replaced,” he continued.
The coach, eager to “keep the squad intact”, as he said on Thursday, opted to replace it numerically with central defender Aïssatou Tounkara (28 years old, 39 caps), who became a reserve on Tuesday, after the squad was reduced from 26 to 23 players. So it is not about a change from one position to another.
The official list must be sent to FIFA no later than July 10, but the French federation can replace a player who withdraws until Saturday July 22, 24 hours before the opening match of the World Cup against Jamaica.
*With AFP; adapted from its original in French
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