Arsenal and France defender William Saliba is very doubtful for the World Cup after injuring his back a few weeks ago, sources told ESPN.
The 25-year-old will undergo scans on Monday to discover the seriousness of his injury but the fear is that he will need a lengthy time to rest and for treatment, and will miss the World Cup with France.
It would be a huge disappointment for him to miss the competition where his national team is among the favourites to win it. It would also be a massive blow for Didier Deschamps and Les Bleus to lose one of the best defenders in the world.
The other defenders called up by France are Lucas Digne, Malo Gusto, Lucas Hernández, Theo Hernández, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix and Dayot Upamecano. Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was a notable omission.
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France are in Group I at the World Cup and will face Senegal, Iraq and Norway.
Saliba played 50 of Arsenal’s 63 games in all competitions this season and was instrumental in playing a huge part in the Premier League title-winning season as well as reaching the Champions League final. Arsenal fell short in a penalty shootout against Paris Saint-Germain after a 1-1 draw in the final in Budapest.
But France now face the prospect of aiming for World Cup glory without Saliba.
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Deschamps said when he unveiled his 26-man squad: “I have ambition, and I want the players to have it too. But I don’t want us to lose our humility. I’m not going to hide and say we’re not among the teams with the potential to become world champions.
“But there are eight, maybe 10 teams that can say that. It’s not by shouting: ‘We’re the best, we’re the strongest.'”
