France have announced that Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy has withdrawn from the national team due to a tibia injury.
The 29-year-old - whose career has been blighted by frequent fitness problems in recent times - seemingly sustained the issue in Los Blancos' 2-0 La Liga win over Real Betis on Sunday evening.
Mendy completed 65 minutes of the match before being replaced by Fran Garcia, and the French Football Federation revealed on Monday that the former Lyon man had damaged his shin bone.
As a result, Mendy has been forced to pull out of Didier Deschamps's squad for September's UEFA Nations League fixtures, which sees Les Bleus take on Italy on Friday and Belgium next Monday.
In his place, Aston Villa's Lucas Digne has been called up, as confirmed by the French Football Federation in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Ferland Mendy, injured in the right tibia, is replaced by Lucas Digne who will join the group this evening! Get well soon Ferland 💙," the governing body wrote.
Mendy has earned just 10 caps for the France team since making his debut in 2018, and he was an unused substitute throughout Les Bleus' run to the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
How long will Mendy be out for?
Neither France nor Real Madrid have disclosed the severity of Mendy's problem, but the 29-year-old is not believed to be suffering from anything too severe, rather he is simply overloaded.
However, the left-back's withdrawal adds to a worsening injury dilemma for Carlo Ancelotti, who is already working without ACL victim David Alaba and two key midfielders in Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga.
Los Blancos also lost Dani Ceballos to a severe ankle sprain in the win over Real Betis, and there are fears that the former Arsenal loanee could spend around two months on the sidelines.
Despite their injury situation, Real Madrid continued their unbeaten start to the La Liga season on Sunday, where two second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe propelled Ancelotti's men to a deserved win over Real Betis.
Los Blancos sit second in the table, four points behind leaders Barcelona, and they return to action away to Real Sociedad on September 14, three days before their Champions League opener against Stuttgart. body check tags ::
