French defender Lucas Hernandez is expected to miss Euro 2024 after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
Hernandez was forced off at half-time in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League semi-final first-leg loss to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. The 28-year-old appeared injured while trying to stop Niclas Fullkrug from opening the scoring and received treatment after the goal before playing on briefly.
PSG confirmed on Thursday that Hernandez had undergone an MRI which confirmed the torn ACL and is due to undergo surgery in the coming days.
Hernandez has been capped 37 times by France since making his senior debut in 2018, featuring in three of his side’s eight Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Lucas, tu reviendras plus Fort encore. Nous sommes tous avec toi ❤️💙
👊 @LucasHernandez photo.twitter.com/DUGxcSrTTS
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) May 2, 2024
Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Wesley Fofana, Jean-Clair Todibo and William Saliba were all also central defenders for France in qualifying. Chelsea’s Fofana, however, has missed the entire 2023-24 season due to his own ACL injury suffered in pre-season.
Hernandez was named in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but his tournament was cut short after injuring a knee ligament in his side’s opening group game. He featured in all seven of France’s matches four years earlier when they won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
France have been drawn alongside the Netherlands, Austria and Poland in Group D at Euro 2024. They begin their campaign against Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17.
Hernandez has made 41 appearances in all competitions for PSG this season, helping his side reach Ligue 1 and the semi-finals of the Champions League.
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