Konate withdraws from France squad with hamstring injury
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has been forced to withdraw from the France squad for September’s international fixtures due to a hamstring injury.
The 24-year-old has been absent from the Reds’ last two Premier League matches against Newcastle United and Aston Villa with the issue, although Jurgen Klopp was coy over his absence.
Neither Klopp nor the club disclosed the full details of Konate’s injury, as the Reds boss only confirmed last week that the Frenchman would not be fit to face Villa at Anfield.
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Despite his absence against Newcastle last month, Konate was included in Didier Deschamps’s France squad for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland and a friendly with Germany on September 7 and 12 respectively.
However, the French Football Federation has now announced that the former RB Leipzig man is nursing a hamstring problem in his left leg, and he will not be able to represent his nation after all.
In his place, uncapped Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo has been called up to Deschamps’s squad, and the 23-year-old will now be the only player in the ranks without a senior appearance for Les Bleus.
“Insufficiently recovered from his hamstring injury in his left thigh, Ibrahima Konate is unable to participate in the first meeting of the season which begins tomorrow,” France said in a statement.
Konate joins a list of notable players to be missing France’s upcoming matches through injury, including Chelsea trio Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku, the latter two of whom are dealing with severe knee problems.
Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy and Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe are not at Deschamps’s disposal either, while Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby has been left out despite his bright start to life in the Premier League with Villa.
However, Diaby and Villa were stunted against Klopp’s on-song Liverpool at the weekend, where Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah and an own goal from Matty Cash saw the Reds comfortably prevail 3-0.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold receives medical attention on September 2, 2023