Injuries continue to plague France
The blows keep coming for France head coach Zinedine Zidane, who has had another player ruled out of the current international break.
The former Real Madrid boss faces a mountain of problems this fortnight, with a swathe of key men sidelined by injury. William Saliba (Arsenal), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea), Manu Koné (Roma), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) and Esteban Lepaul (Rennes) are all missing.
Defender Dayot Upamecano joins the list too, suspended for the match against Italy.
Juventus man Pierre Kalulu was ruled out through injury yesterday, prompting Zidane to call up Wolfsburg's Sehrou Guirassy in his place.
Today, the website "Foot Mercato" reported that Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram will also sit out this international break.
Zidane had handed Thuram a recall after the striker missed September's camp, but he won't make the final squad. Injury rules him out of the games against Italy on Thursday and Turkey on Sunday.
Thuram picked up a hamstring injury in his right knee during Inter's 2-0 win over Como on Sunday. Unable to train with France and still under medical care, he showed no improvement, so the French medical staff sent him back to his club. His replacement will be named soon.
The France coaching staff confirmed: "The coach has called up Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth) to replace Marcus Thuram. He will join the squad this evening at Clairefontaine."