France may no longer be the dark horse contenders at Euro 2012. In the 4th minute of their friendly match against Serbia on Thursday, midfielder Yann M'Vila pulled up injured after his foot got stuck in the pitch and his ankle bent the wrong way. M'Vila appeared to be in serious pain, required the assistance of trainers to leave the pitch, and was visibly crying on the bench. He was replaced by Alou Diarra, and headed down the tunnel to the locker room.
Even if Diarra has avoided a serious injury, it would be very surprising if he did not suffer a badly sprained ankle, at the very least. That wouldn't stop him from starting preseason on time for Rennes or securing a big-money transfer, but it would be a serious enough injury that Laurent Blanc would need to consider calling up a replacement for Euro 2012. While no one has a diagnosis yet, it'll take a miracle for M'Vila to return to Les Bleus in the short term.
M'Vila is currently one of two starters in the center of midfield, alongside Yohan Cabaye. Diarra, the man who replaced him in the match against Serbia, would likely take over the starting role. He's a tactical like-for-like replacement, but doesn't have nearly the athletic ability or technical quality of M'Vila. With all due respect to Diarra, the loss of M'Vila will be a massive blow for France.
There are 0 Comments. Add Yours.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.