Ibrahima Konaté's international break has been cut short. The Real Madrid defender left the France national team camp on Thursday morning after picking up a minor sprain to his right knee, and he's now heading back to Madrid for treatment. Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has been called up to replace him in the squad.
The French Football Federation said the decision was made jointly with Real Madrid's medical staff. "In agreement with the coaching staff and following a cordial exchange between the France national team's medical staff and Real Madrid's medical staff, the player will return to the care of his club as of today," the federation confirmed.
How bad is it?
By the federation's own account, the injury doesn't initially look serious, but neither Zinedine Zidane nor France's medical staff wanted to gamble on it, choosing the cautious route instead. Konaté will undergo further tests back in Madrid, though his participation in Real Madrid's next fixture, against Villarreal on October 10, is not currently thought to be in doubt.
What happened in training
Konaté had been in line to start during this international break after France's first-choice centre-back, William Saliba, was ruled out of Zidane's squad following a serious back injury sustained at the World Cup. That put Konaté in a good position to feature before the knock intervened.
He picked up the injury during Wednesday's session, France's last workout at Clairefontaine before the squad travelled to Turkey for its Nations League opener. He felt discomfort that forced him to stop early, and an initial examination pointed to a minor sprain in the right knee, enough to send him back to his club for further assessment.
