Djorkaeff in line for Zidane role

France coach Roger Lemerre thinks veteran Bolton schemer Youri Djorkaeff is a ready-made replacement for playmaker Zinedine Zidane who has been ruled out of their World Cup opener against Senegal on Friday.

Zidane misses the start of their campaign for back-to-back titles and faces a race against time to be fit for the next match on June 6 with Uruguay in Busan.

He suffered a thigh injury in Sunday’s 3-2 friendly win over South Korea in Suwon and misses the Senegal clash in Seoul.

The Real Madrid midfielder, who had a scan yesterday, told Le Parisien: ‘‘I’m out for this match (Senegal). I’m out at least for one match.

‘‘The scan clearly shows a little tear. It’s not really a serious injury and I’m feeling pretty confident.

‘‘I hope I’ll able to take part in the second match.

‘‘I will just have to rest for three or four days and let nature do its work.’’

French team doctor Jean-Marcel Ferret said: ‘‘Due to his thigh muscle injury, he will not play against Senegal and it will take a couple of days before we know whether he will be fit for the match against Uruguay.’’

France coach Lemerre said that when Zidane hobbled from the field he knew instantly the France icon was in real trouble.

‘‘When Zidane asked to be replaced on Sunday I knew him too well to think it was not serious,’’ Lemerre told L’Equipe today.

‘‘It meant that somehow he was very worried.’’

The French mastermind hinted strongly that he could choose 34-year-old Djorkaeff, the Bolton midfielder, as the playmaker against Senegal.

‘‘This is a possibility,’’ he said, ‘‘Youri has shown his freshness and his presence on a pitch.

‘‘He is very good physically and psychologically. He could well be capable to compensate for Zidane’s absence.’’

Bordeaux forward Christophe Dugarry is also an option that Lemerre has considered after impressing in the South Korea game.

Lemerre told L’Equipe: ‘‘I know Duga well and putting him in that position was a possibility, in my eyes, to win that match.

‘‘That allowed me to play (Djibril) Cisse on the right side. That was good from an attacking perspective but not as good for the balance of the team.

‘‘But we can’t have everything. I would say that, if need be, during an actual match situation, it is a solution.’’

Tests yesterday revealed that Zidane could be sidelined for up to 10 days.

Young France star David Trezeguet concedes Zidane will be missed but insists there’s no need to press the panic button.

‘‘Zizou is Les Bleus’ head and engine,’’ said the Juventus striker.

‘‘What happened to him is a shame and we are worried but no one should forget that we played two games without him (against Denmark and Paraguay) on our way to the title in 1998 because he was suspended. We managed (France had won both those games).’’

Senegal, meanwhile, are not shedding crocodile tears over France’s predicament.

‘‘Without Zidane the French team can easily be beaten,’’ Senegal player Alassane Ndour told L’Equipe today.

Team-mate Amdy Faye said Senegal did not fear Zidane.

‘‘But what I want is to face the greatest players, this is my dream and it allows me to compare my game to theirs.

‘‘Playing against France without their star is not nice but too bad for them.’’