By Victor Kanayo
Some of the French key players are reportedly battling minor injuries barely 24 hours to their semi-final clash against the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
This came to fore after they didn’t take part in the training session on Monday.
The second last four match will happen on Wednesday December 14.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Dayot Upamecano missed France training while Kylian Mbappe didn’t touch ball.
Tchouameni, 22, scored a screamer against the Three Lions, but picked up a calf strain later in the match.
He was able to complete the 90 minutes and is expected to play on Wednesday, but the lingering issue kept him out of training.
Defender Upamecano, meanwhile, has been feeling unwell.
The Bayern Munich ace was missing in training with a sore throat, according to L’Equipe, quoted by The Sun.
Should he fail to recover in time for the clash with Morocco, Ibrahima Konate or William Saliba would step in.
Four other players took part in a warm up, but did not get their boots on to take part in any football exercises.
These included superstar Kylian Mbappe, who also missed a session last week amid an ongoing ankle issue.
Raphael Varane, Ousmane Dembele and Theo Hernandez were the other players not to take part in the full session.
Didier Deschamps’ side have already been blighted by injuries – with the likes of Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku all missing the tournament.
On Saturday night, France narrowly overcame England 2-1 to make semi-final of the this term’s global soccer fiesta.