Ribery distraught as World Cup dream ends

Franck Ribery has likened his World Cup absence to "a death in the soul".

A back problem saw the Bayern Munich star withdrawn from the squad on the same day as Lyon midfielder Clement Grenier, who has a thigh injury.

Montpellier’s Remy Cabella and Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin will replace the pair.

Ribery said: “It is like a death in the soul that I am forced to leave the France team and give up on the World Cup.

“I always hoped to be able to play against Jamaica (in tomorrow’s final warm-up friendly) but when I pushed it physically on Friday morning it aggravated my back pain.

“The MRI scan confirmed those feelings and therefore my inability to train and play normally.

“In these conditions and despite the efforts of the medical staff, who I thank sincerely, my absence was inevitable.”

Coach Didier Deschamps said: “It’s a sad day. You have on one side two players who are happy to be joining us, and two others who are very sad.”

Ribery had been following an individual training programme to overcome a back problem which has sidelined him since Bayern’s DFB-Pokal final on May 17.

He had hoped to rejoin the full squad yesterday but Deschamps said: “We increased the intensity of his work but this morning, before he could join the collective training, he stopped dead on a movement with a sharp pain.

“As of today, everything leads us to believe that he will be unable to train for several weeks, and still less able to play.”

Deschamps admitted Ribery’s absence, in particular, is a major setback but vowed not to lose heart.

He said: “We know what Franck is capable of. But I have other players. Part of my job is to anticipate things and try out different options. There are lots of possibilities. (Antoine) Griezmann has done some good things.

“With Franck Ribery at 100%, we are better. But we have to be ambitious.”