November 23, (THEWILL) – Following an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Lucas Hernandez will miss the remaining World Cup matches and possibly the rest of the current club football campaign.
An injury crisis swirled around France in the lead-up to their campaign in Qatar, which got underway on Tuesday with the defending champions delivering a 4-1 thrashing to Australia. Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, Paul Pogba, and N’Golo Kante were all ruled out, and Didier Deschamps has now lost another important player.
Hernandez was turned by Australia’s Matthew Leckie in the lead-up to Craig Goodwin’s opening goal for the Aussies and went down holding his right knee nine minutes into the victory over the Socceroos.
The Bayern Munich defender’s situation did not appear promising, and France has officially confirmed the 26-year-old tore his ACL.
Hernandez will miss a significant portion of the 2022/2023 season when it resumes after the World Cup, given the severity of his injury.
Coach, Didier Deschamps, said: “Like the whole group, players and staff, I am extremely sorry for Lucas. We are losing an important element. Lucas is a warrior and I have no doubt that he will do everything possible to return to the game. I know him well. Courage, he will have it, that’s for sure. On behalf of the group, I wish him the best possible recovery.”
