Deschamps announces OM squad for Tangiers
25/07/2011
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps has announced a list of 19 players for Wednesday's Trophée des Champions in Tangiers, while injury doubts hang over several Lille stars for the season-opening clash.
Deschamps' Marseille will have to take on French champions Lille without new centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou, the Cameroon international serving a suspension, while striker André-Pierre Gignac is still receiving treatment for a groin injury and has not travelled to Morocco.
Notable inclusions in the squad are playmaker Lucho Gonzalez - despite his posible departure this summer - and youth academy starlet Chris Gadi, who showed a lot of promise in one of his first senior-team outings by scoring a classy goal in the 2-1 loss to Udinese at the weekend.
The full OM squad:
Mandanda, Bracigliano; Azpilicutea, Fanni, Diawara, Mbia, Morel, Sabo; Diarra, Cissé, Kabore, Lucho, Cheyrou, Valbuena, A. Ayew, Amalfitano; Rémy, J. Ayew, Gadi
Meanwhile newly signed Lille right-back Laurent Bonnart - a former OM player - was pulled from LOSC's 1-0 loss to Saint-Etienne at the weekend, but coach Rudi Garcia explained that this was more a precautionary measure than anything else.
No-risk policy
"Laurent felt his hamstring tighten up, so that's why I took him off immediately," explained Garcia, who has expressed the veteran defender into his starting line-up following regular right-back Mathieu Debuchy's injuring his back last week. "I didn't want to take any risks and jeopardise his participation in Wednesday's Trophée des Champions, which would be really bad news."
Garcia is also contending with injury niggles for midfielder Ludovic Obraniak - scorer of a spectacular winner in last season's Coupe de France final against PSG - who is nursing a calf complaint, star signing Dimitri Payet (knee) and Brazilian target man Tulio De Melo (periosteum).