Just hours into his first return to the national side
Anthony Martial has had to withdraw from the France squad just hours after reuniting with his international teammates.
The Manchester United striker suffered an abductor injury during his first session back with the France squad after a one year absence.
Martial arrived at Clairefontaine early this morning after a fine run of form in a Manchester United shirt earned him a recall to the national team. But only hours later he was heading back to Manchester after consulting national team doctor Frank Le Gall about a knock he picked up during training.
Having missed out on the World Cup, Martial will be gutted to miss out on the chance to impress in a blue shirt again.
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette had been called up to take his place in Didier Deschamps’ squad after an impressive start to the season, but was unable to join up with the squad.
In his place, Borussia Moenchengladbach striker Alassane Plea has been added to the squad.
Martial’s club teammate Paul Pogba also misses out with a thigh injury that ruled him out of the Manchester derby on Sunday, which finished 3-1 to City.
Pogba has been replaced by Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko, who returns after a 13 month absence. Sissoko played a key role in France’s run to the final of Euro 2016, on the right hand side of Deschamps’ four man midfield, but has struggled to keep his place in the squad due to a lack of minutes for Spurs and increasingly tough competition from the likes of Florian Thauvin and Corentin Tolisso.
