PARIS
France's national football team's star Franck Ribery will not be going to the World Cup in Brazil due to his back injury, announced head coach Didier Deschamps on Friday.
He added that Ribery's injury does not give the player enough time to get fit.
In addition to Ribery, Lyon's 23-year-old attacking midfielder, Clement Grenier, was also sidelined because of a groin injury. Both players will be replaced by Montpellier's 24-year-old winger Remy Cabella and by Morgan Schneiderlin who plays as a midfielder for Southampton in England.
Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery was one of the finalists for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or - which is awarded to the best player of the year - along with two other superstars, Argentinian forward of Barcelona, Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up winning the prestigious trophy.
France will be competing against Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras in Group E of the 2014 World Cup, which starts on June 12, to qualify for knock-out stages.
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