UEFA Nations League

Hugo Lloris, Theo Hernandez withdraw from France squad with injuries

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 19 September 2022

Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris and AC Milan's Theo Hernandez withdraw injured from the France squad for September's UEFA Nations League clashes with Austria and Denmark.

France duo Hugo Lloris and Theo Hernandez have withdrawn from the Bleus squad for their upcoming Nations League matches.

Team captain Lloris played the full 90 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur's 6-2 win over Leicester City in the Premier League at the weekend but has since sustained a "small" thigh injury.

As a result, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper has been forced to pull out of the squad to face Austria and Denmark in the UEFA Nations League later this month.

Nantes number one Alban Lafont has been called up in Lloris's place, with the 23-year-old aiming to make his senior France debut under Didier Deschamps after earning 14 caps for the Under-21s.

At this stage, the length of Lloris's layoff has not been determined, but it remains to be seen if he will recover for the North London derby with Arsenal on October 1 following the international period.

In addition to Lloris, France have also announced that left-back Hernandez will also play no part in the fixtures with Austria and Denmark due to an adductor tear.

The 24-year-old joined up with his teammates on Monday morning after playing the full 90 in AC Milan's 2-1 defeat to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, and he has been replaced by Aston Villa's Lucas Digne.

Deschamps has also called up Jordan Veretout to replace Digne's Lions teammate Boubacar Kamara, who was originally in the squad in place of Adrien Rabiot before sustaining a knee injury.

Defending champions France sit bottom of League A Group 1 in the 2022-23 Nations League with two points from their opening four games, and Les Bleus cannot qualify for the finals following their winless start.