Star winger Franck Ribery was ruled out of the World Cup on Friday dealing a huge blow to France’s hopes of lifting the trophy in Brazil.
The 31-year-old Bayern Munich forward’s failure to recover from a nagging back injury was confirmed by coach Didier Deschamps at a press conference.
Deschamps announced that midfielder Clement Grenier would also miss the World Cup because of a thigh injury he suffered in the 1-1 draw with Paraguay last Sunday.
Deschamps called up Montpellier attacking midfielder Remy Cabella and Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin as replacements.
The three-time French player of the year has been suffering from lower back pains for several weeks, playing only once for club or country since 29 April.
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