Euro 2020: France forward Ousmane Dembele ruled out with injury
Jun 21, 2021
Budapest [Hungary], June 21 : France forward Ousmane Dembele has been ruled out of the ongoing Euro 2020 with an injury he picked up in the draw against Hungary, the French Football Federation(FFF) confirmed on Monday.
The FC Barcelona forward came on as a second-half substitute at the Puskas Arena, when France was trailing against Hungary in the Group F clash, but he had to be replaced by Thomas Lemar in the 87th minute as he limped off with an apparent knee injury.
"Ousmane Dembele had an X-ray at the Budapest hospital on Sunday night," the French Football Federation(FFF) said in an official statement.
"The recovery time is incompatible with him staying in the squad. After discussing with the player and (team doctor) Franck le Gall, (coach) Didier Deschamps has acknowledged that Ousmane Dembele is ruled out for the rest of the tournament."
France head coach, Didier Deschamps earlier confirmed in the press conference that it was a tendon issue in Dembele's knee. On Saturday after the game, Deschamps said, "Dembele, it's a hit on the tendon, behind the knee, it will be necessary to check. He continued, he wanted to cross and felt a fairly significant discomfort. I brought him off and we will have to watch him."
Despite Ousmane Dembele's withdrawal from the summer tournament, the French side still has quite a few options in the final third behind starters Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema, and Kylian Mbappe, with Olivier Giroud, Kingsley Coman and Wissam Ben Yedder in the squad.
Les Bleus missed the chance to book their Round of 16 berth in the Euro 2020 as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Hungary. Didier Deschamps' men currently have four points after two games, which should be enough to make the last 16 as they finish their group stage against Portugal on Wednesday, a repeat of the 2016 European Championship final.
