France national team boss Didier Deschamps has confirmed that Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny will miss this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
This is due to a suspected Achilles injury.
Deschamps said: “I am really very sad for Laurent because this World Cup was also a very important moment for him in his career and I wish him a lot of strength in his comeback because I’m sure he still has some great things to come.”
The 32-year-old picked up his injury while playing for the Gunners during their Europa League semi-final defeat against Atletico Madrid.
Koscielny had to be carried off on a stretcher early on during the 1-0 defeat which took place at the Wanda Metropolitano.
After losing his footing while moving towards Diego Costa, Koscielny was in clear pain and clutched his lower leg.
This will surely be a blow to the France national team.
The French are one of the favourites heading into the World Cup and Koscielny would have been one of the more experienced members of the squad- with 51 international caps to his name.
Meanwhile, this could be the end of Koscielny’s international career. He had already announced an intention to retire from international football following the World Cup.
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