Didier Deschamps explains Christopher Nkunku absence

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·16 May 2024

Didier Deschamps explains Christopher Nkunku absence

Équipe de France coach Didier Deschamps has explained the reason he left Christopher Nkunku (26) out of his 25-man squad for Euro 2024, which is set to start in just under a month in Germany.

Didier Deschamps leaves out Christopher Nkunku after injury-plagued season at Chelsea

After scoring for the West London outfit last night in a 2-1 win against Brighton, his first goal for the club since the end of January, there was talk of Nkunku possibly being called up for the tournament, but Deschamps resisted the temptation to include the forward, who has played just 12% of possible minutes in the season so far:

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“Of course he could’ve been called, but he had a complicated season. He played some minutes recently, but it’s maybe not quite enough. He’s healed, that’s for sure, but he hasn’t yet started a match since his return from injury. He could’ve been called up but we have alot of attacking players.”

Nkunku missed the first 16 games of Chelsea’s Premier League season with a knee injury, followed by a subsequent lack of match fitness, before sustaining a hamstring injury following a run of games off the bench, prompting a further nine-game spell on the sidelines.

The former RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain man is not the only Chelsea player to miss out, with fellow Frenchmen Malo Gusto (20) and Axel Disasi (26) also not included in Didier Deschamps’ squad. Gusto, in particular, will consider himself unlucky given his excellent performances at right-back for the Premier League outfit this season ( 6 assists).

GFFN | Jack McArdle