Rabiot's Euro future in doubt after ankle injury

Posted Friday, June 25, 2021 by 101 GREAT GOALS

Rabiot a doubt for France

Adrien Rabiot has featured in all three of France's fixtures to date at the 2020 European Championships. The Juventus man was trusted in central midfield in ties against Germany and Hungary, before being dropped to the bench against Portugal.

An injury to reserve left-back Lucas Digne, however, meant that Rabiot was substituted on after just 52 minutes, playing a large part of the game in a left full-back berth.

However, a report from Get French Football News, citing French publication L'Equipe, suggests that Rabiot may not play any further part in the tournament.

This is due to a recurring ankle injury, which has flared up in the last few days. The result was that Rabiot trained apart from France's main group on Thursday, undergoing a lighter session than his teammates.

Indeed, there is something of a tug-of-war ongoing between the midfielder and the medical staff in the French camp; the latter believe that he will be fine to play through the tournament without any issues.

Rabiot, on the other hand, is wary of the fate of countryman Samuel Umtiti, who was told the same thing, and has since struggled perpetually with injury, losing his place in the Barcelona side as a result.

"Crisis" in the French camp

France had already lost Ousmane Dembele to injury against Hungary, with the Barcelona winger subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

Lucas Digne is likely to join him on the sidelines for the entirety of the competition, whilst Lucas Hernandez was removed at half-time on Wednesday with a supposed knock.

To make matters worse, GFFN report that wingers Thomas Lemar and Marcus Thuram have suffered injuries in training, although there has as of yet been no official confirmation.

Should this prove the case, however, and Rabiot be unable to play a further part either, Didier Deschamps would find himself down to a 20-man squad, three of which come in the form of goalkeepers.

While France have the strongest starting XI in the tournament, behind the scenes they are hitting the bare bones of their squad.