Chantôme to miss Spain clash
14/10/2012
Injured in the 1-0 loss to Japan, PSG midfielder Clément Chantôme has been ruled out of Les Bleus' World Cup qualifier in Spain on Tuesday.
Forced off the pitch in the 75th minute of a dominant yet ultimately fruitless friendly against Japan on Friday night, PSG young gun Clément Chantôme has been diagnosed with a slight hamstring tear that has ruled him out of contention for Les Bleus' crunch Group I World Cup qualifier against favourites Spain in Madrid on Tuesday.
"Clément has undergone examinations that revealed a slight hamstring tear, so we have sent him back to his club to effect his recovery," declared France coach Didier Deschamps, who will not be calling up a supplementary player to his squad that will travel to Spain.
Matuidi to step up?
Rather, Deschamps is tipped to hand Chantôme's place in the starting XI to the 25-yeaqr-old midifelder's clubmate Blaise Matuidi as Les Bleus look to score an upset win in the Spanish capital that would see them re-take top spot in the group.
>> Deschamps: 'Find our cutting edge'
>> MATCH REPORT: Japan shock Les Bleus