Chelsea star Olivier Giroud suffered a World Cup scare while playing for France as Les Bleus played out to a 1-1 draw in a friendly international against the United States on Saturday.
Giroud had a sickening clash of heads with US defender and fellow Chelsea player Matt Miazga and had to be taken off following the incident. The accident left both footballers bleeding and in pain, with the former Arsenal forward laid down on the field for five minutes.
As he was receiving treatment, Giroud was taken from the field, and was his American counterpart, Miazga. The 31-year-old was replaced by Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.
http://gty.im/960203258 spent last season on loan with Vitesse. He is one of the young players who is expected to play a major role in the Americans’ rebuilding phase after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, their first qualification failure in 32 years.
It remains to be seen whether the injury will have any impact on Giroud’s World Cup chances.
The veteran was expected to be a starter for Les Blues, who are one of the pre-tournament favourites to win the tournament in Russia. His experience is expected to be vital as the French look to win the World Cup for the first time since 1998 when they played on home soil.
The French have some of the world’s best players in their squad, such as Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, Hugo Lloris, N’Golo Kante, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe. They also have arguably one of the best strength in depth of all of the teams heading to Russia.
Even if Giroud has to miss the tournament as a result of his injury, the French still have quality cover as the likes of Dembele, Florian Thauvin and Nabil Fekir are all available to call upon.
