November 14, (THEWILL) – Chelsea right-back, Malo Gusto, has been forced to withdraw from the France Under-21 squad this month, after sustaining a minor knee ligament injury, the French Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old, who earned his first senior cap for France last month, had been called up for European Championship qualifiers against Austria and a friendly with South Korea. However, Gusto will now miss both matches after a scan revealed the problem.
Gusto moved to Chelsea in January, but remained on loan at Lyon for the remainder of last season. Since joining up with Chelsea in the summer, he has made a bright start, starting five of the first six English Premier League games, while first-choice right-back, Reece James, was injured.
However, the emergence of James and Gusto’s suspension after a red card in September has seen the young Frenchman limited to a squad role recently. Chelsea will hope the injury is only minor with a busy run of nine games still to play before the end of 2023.
The Blues face Newcastle, Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United and Everton in the league over the festive period, as well as a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle. Gusto will target a return to action before the New Year.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
