The French team sees its infirmary fill up over the days, but Didier Deschamps does not slam the door on his last injuries. Questioned by AFP on Tuesday, October 25, the national coach refused to definitively rule out any of his players, with the exception of N’Golo Kanté, operated on for hamstrings on October 18.
Raphaël Varane and Mike Maignan injured in recent days, Paul Pogba just back in training after having knee surgery… Everyone can still dream of participating in the World Cup in Qatar from November 20. “DD” explains it, and sets its conditions.
Mike Maignan and Raphaël Varane suffered muscle injuries a few days before the World Cup (November 20-December 18). Can they keep hope of being there?
Didier Deschamps: I can’t give an answer today because I don’t have all the elements, but the door remains open. The only one for whom the door is closed is N’Golo Kanté [opéré des ischio-jambiers et absent au moins jusqu’en février]. For the others, it will be necessary to see the evolution of their injuries.
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What will you use to judge a player’s ability?
There are different stages. The first, which is essential, is that the player be cured. Afterwards, you have to assess the athletic condition, with the medical staff and the data you have. And thirdly, there is competition for the job. We cannot make generalizations because among the injured, there are some who have been injured for longer than others. It also depends on the injury: if it is articular or if it is muscular, it is not the same thing.
Is it absolutely necessary that a player has returned to competition to be able to appear on the list?
The only thing that is certain is that I will not take a player who is not able to play at the start of the competition. Then it’s on a case-by-case basis. For Paul [Pogba], that he has playing time before the competition, as much as possible, I say yes, because he is in deficit compared to the others. For Raphael [Varane]it’s less problematic on that aspect, because it’s a muscle injury.