Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has been withdrawn from France duty for their upcoming Nations League games against Israel and Italy.
Fofana was originally named in Didier Deschamps’ 23-man squad earlier this month but has since been forced to pull out after experiencing pain in his left knee following Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
The 23-year-old missed the majority of last season with a serious knee injury which Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says will cause him pain “for the rest of his career”.
The French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Monday that Inter Milan full-back Benjamin Pavard has been called up as Fofana’s replacement.
Fofana has started 10 of Chelsea’s 11 Premier League games so far this season, missing the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in October through suspension.
He made his senior international debut in France’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar last year and the game — a 3-0 win — remains his one and only appearance for his country to date.
The former Leicester City defender was an unused substitute in both of France’s Nations League outings last month.
France are second in Group A2 heading into the final round of fixtures.
Deschamps’ side play bottom-placed Israel in Paris on Thursday before facing off against group leaders Italy three days later at San Siro, which is likely to decide who progresses to knockout stage of the competition.
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe will not feature in either game after being left out of Deschamps’ squad last week.
France squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens).
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Manu Kone (Borussia Monchengladbach), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG).
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
