France have called up Lyon striker Sidney Govou to replace Liverpool’s Djibril Cisse, who was ruled out of the World Cup finals after breaking his leg.
Govou, 26, also received a late call-up for France’s Euro 2004 squad.
Cisse broke a leg in the warm-up friendly with China on Wednesday night.
French team-mate Thierry Henry said: “This is a really bad time for Djibril, for us and for his family. It was hard not to think about it during the game.”
Back then he replaced the then injured Monaco playmaker Ludovic Giuly, who is now at Barcelona and who was surprisingly overlooked for the squad this time around.
Arsenal forward Henry has revealed that the squad hope to visit in hospital.
“I am sure he will bounce back again,” stated Henry. “We will try to find the time to go ahead and see him.”
Juventus defender Lilian Thuram said that the team would be thinking of Cisse during the tournament.
He said: “Cisse will not be with us physically at the World Cup but he will be in our hearts.”
