Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara has been summoned by France boss Didier Deschamps after Adrien Rabiot was ruled out of next week’s Nations League games.
Already without a number of key midfield figures including Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, the injury to Rabiot deprives Deschamps of another experienced player.
Rabiot has not fully recovered from a left calf muscle injury, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on its website, and has been ruled out of Juventus’ Serie A match against Monza this weekend.
Deschamps decided it was sensible, as a precautionary measure, to withdraw Rabiot from his group and promote a player more likely to be available for full squad activities when the group gather at the Clairefontaine training base on Monday.
Kamara made his France debut against Croatia in June, shortly after it was announced he would be leaving Marseille to join Villa.
France have recorded two draws and two defeats in their first four games in Group A1 of the Nations League, leaving the world champions battling relegation from the competition’s top tier. They host Austria on September 22 and travel to face Denmark three days later.