The 2022 World Cup in Qatar continues to pile misery on Didier Deschamps’ France squad after Les Bleus suffered another potential injury to a key figure in the team after starting left-back Lucas Hernández came off injured in the first half.
Hernández limped off inside fifteen minutes after his attempt to close down Australian winger Mathew Leckie caused him to sustain what appeared to be a knee injury before Leckie’s cross found Craig Goodwin free in the area to give the Socceroos a shock 1-0 lead over the holding champions.
Lucas Hernandez was forced off in the ninth minute. Another injury for France 😕 pic.twitter.com/MD2NEKyGuY
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 22, 2022
Hernández was replaced by his younger brother Theo as a result of the injury, and questions will now be asked whether or not France will now be stripped of a sixth key player during a World Cup cycle that has ravaged the national team camp.
Before even kicking a ball in anger, France was stripped of five top names with Deschamps looking for answers after Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté, Presnel Kimpembe, Karim Benzema, and Christopher Nkunku all have been forced to miss the winter showdown due to the injury bug.
Les Bleus do boast arguably the deepest talent pool anywhere in the world, however, and many still expect France to be one of the heavy favorites and capable of lifting its third World Cup win and becoming the first nation in 60-years to successfully defend its title after Brazil last achieved that same feat after winning the tournament in Sweden in 1962.
Given that Deschamps opted to not include Lucas Digne in his 26-man squad, it seems likely that Theo Hernánez will pick up the family mantel should his older brother be unable to return to action for the remainder of the tournament.
Read below for more on the 2022 World Cup
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has Manchester United contract terminated by mutual consent
Four potential destinations for Portugal’s out-of-contract star Cristiano Ronaldo
