The Espoirs coach, Thierry Henry, will have to cope without Leny Yoro or Enzo Millot, victims of the same virus which forced Malo Gusto to leave the rally earlier this week.
Plagued by injuries since the start of the rally, the U23 squad of the France team recorded two additional withdrawals this Sunday evening before the match once morest the United States, scheduled for this Monday (9:05 p.m.) in Sochaux.
Affected by the same influenza virus which sent Malo Gusto to treatment in London, Leny Yoro and Enzo Millot will not be able to participate in the meeting once morest the Americans, the Blues’ first opponents at the Olympics (next July 24, in Marseille), as left fear the speaking this Sunday of a defeatist Thierry Henry at a press conference.
The timing being too tight, neither of these two players will be replaced. Since the start of this international window, the coach has had to deal with these small hazards which pollute the life of the group and complicate his task in putting together an eleven for this last friendly match.
From 23 to 18 elements
“Without naming names, we tried to call 2, 3 players but either they were on the weekend, or they didn’t train for 2 or 3 days and we don’t want to take any risks,” explained Thierry Henry, forced to spare his workforce despite the few elements available to operate rotations.
It must be said that the coach was not spared. While he had established a list of 23 names, the group finally trained with 18 on the pitch at the Bonal stadium this Sunday, on the eve of the last match. First it was Georginio Rutter and Joris Chotard, injured at club level, who had to withdraw before the rally.
Then Malo Gusto had to give up his turn before the match once morest Ivory Coast, a match that Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola was unable to finish, hit behind the left thigh. Returned to his Parisian club, Barcola suffers from a hamstring injury and will be unavailable for the Classic once morest OM.
