Star Christopher Nkunku will not attend the Qatar World Cup after sustaining an injury to his left knee in training on Tuesday.
Per a statement from the French Football Federation (FFF), Nkunku must now give up participating in the tournament for the Parisians.
“The RB Leipzig striker had left the training session on Tuesday before his end, hit in the left knee. The radiological examinations passed in the evening unfortunately revealed that it was a sprain,” the FFF said.
“Didier Deschamps recorded Christopher Nkunku’s forfeit. A medical file has been sent to FIFA, a regulatory prerequisite for the replacement of an injured player in the group since the list was filed on Monday at 7 p.m,” the statement added.
Eduardo Camavinga, a young star midfielder for the French, clashed with Nkunku at training, edging the footballer to the sideline.
The video of the incident has circulated online, showing Nkunku limping off the field.
Nkunku was set to debut on the international stage with the likes of Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmann.
The 25-year-old has been in peak form this year, scoring 12 times in his 15 Bundesliga appearances for RB Leipzig.
Coach Deschamps has yet to reveal a replacement, the FFF confirms.
“The name of Christopher Nkunku’s replacement will be communicated once the medical file has been validated by FIFA.”
A spell of imperfect curses has been placed on the French team as the team will miss several key players, including Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, along with goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Paris-Saint-German Presnel Kimpembe will also be ruled out of this year’s tournament after failing to recover from his hamstring injury.
Axel Disasi has been called up as a replacement for the team as concerns over the defense spell for the reigning champions.
