Malo Gusto leaves training with ankle injury, but availability for Iraq match not in doubt

Malo Gusto left France training prematurely on Wednesday after suffering a blow to his left ankle, unintentionally inflicted by Lucas Digne during a challenge. The incident occurred the day after France’s victory over Senegal (3-1), during a session reserved for substitutes.

Didier Deschamps and his assistant Guy Stephan immediately approached the Chelsea right-back to assess his condition. Early indications are reassuring: it appears to be a simple knock with no apparent severity, which would not necessarily rule out Gusto’s participation in the upcoming match against Iraq on Sunday. The French staff are showing no particular concern, although the player’s condition will be monitored over the coming hours.

This alert comes at a time when the right-back position represents one of the few weak points identified by Deschamps following the opening victory against Senegal. While the chemistry between Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise, repositioned centrally, impressed the manager, the performances of the full-backs were judged to be more limited.

Against Senegal, Deschamps made only two changes, confirming his tendency to rely on a restricted group of regular starters. The substitutes therefore had the benefit of this two-by-thirty-minute opposition, supplemented by young players from the New England Revolution academy, in a tight match where challenges nonetheless remained measured.

Should Gusto be ruled out, Deschamps would need to revise his defensive setup before facing Iraq, an opponent against which France will approach the match in a position of strength following their convincing second-half performance against the Lions of Teranga.