France coach backs Lloris

France coach Didier Deschamps is confident Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be available for Friday’s World Cup play-off first leg against Ukraine.

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas sparked controversy when he allowed Lloris to remain on the field after being knocked out in a collision with Romelu Lukaku during the goalless draw with Everton on November 3. The 26-year-old subsequently sat out the Europa League win over Sheriff Tiraspol and Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle, although Villas-Boas expects him to feature for his country.

And Deschamps declared yesterday: “He is doing well, very well. He had a specific training programme on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with Tottenham. The club and their coach, Andre Villas-Boas, took the decision not to let him play yesterday.