Barely ten minutes into France’s World Cup campaign, they’ve suffered a huge injury blow. Never mind that they also went 0-1 down to Australia.
Bayern Munich stalwart defender Lucas Hernández went down clutching his knee after a non-contact injury during a defensive action on the left flank. His foot appeared to catch in the turf and contribute to the injury.
Hernández stayed down in visible agony and was helped off the field, requiring an immediate substitution. He was one of three Bayern Munich players to start in the French first-choice back-line, alongside Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano.
Details are yet to emerge, but this looks bad. Really bad. His World Cup campaign might not be the only thing that’s over — the rest of his Bayern Munich season now looks in doubt. This is an extremely unfortunate turn of events for a player who has only recently returned for his club after an injury he’d sustained in the Champions League against FC Barcelona in September.
With fellow Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies also making a hastened injury return for the World Cup, the Bavarians’ situation on the left side of defense is going to bear watching as we head into the winter transfer window.
Wishing Lucas all the best on the injury recovery. Grim, grim luck. Just yuck.