DOHA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Wednesday morning that defender Lucas Hernandez will miss the rest of the World Cup and be sidelined for several months after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Hernandez suffered the injury in the ninth minute of Tuesday's 4-1 win over Australia. The injury happened as Australia winger Mathew Leckie received a ball on the wing and cut inside Hernandez, whose foot appeared to catch in the turf, causing him to twist his knee.
He was carried off and replaced by younger brother Theo Hernandez, and speaking after the match, French coach Didier Deschamps admitted the injury didn't look good.
"I think it's quite serious, we are waiting for test results, but I think it is serious," admitted the coach.
France won the game with goals from Adrien Rabiot, Kylian Mbappe and a brace from Olivier Giroud, who equaled Thierry Henry's record of 51 goals for France.
However, their injury list continues to lengthen after Karim Benzema was forced to leave the squad on Sunday with a torn muscle in his left thigh, while Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante didn't make the tournament squad after failing to recover from injuries. ■
