France suffer fresh injury blows as Marcus Thuram and Aurelien Tchouameni ruled out

France will be without Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram and Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni for their upcoming Nations League fixtures after both players were ruled out with injuries.

Thuram sustained a hamstring problem during Inter Milan’s 2-0 victory over Como on Sunday, scoring his side’s second goal. The forward was unable to train with France on Monday because of continued discomfort and remained under medical supervision.

The France medical team decided to release Thuram back to Inter Milan after further assessment on Tuesday.

“With no improvement this morning, and following medical examinations, the French national team’s medical staff decided, in agreement with Inter and the player, to release him back to his club,” France said in a statement.

Bournemouth attacker Junior Kroupi has been called up to replace Thuram. The uncapped forward was Ligue 2’s leading scorer in 2025 and helped France Under-19 reach the final of the 2024 European Championship.

Kroupi only returned to action last month after surgery on a foot injury suffered during pre-season.

Tchouameni has aggravated a right adductor injury, the same problem he experienced at this summer’s World Cup. The midfielder will return to Real Madrid to continue his rehabilitation.

France coach Zinedine Zidane has decided not to bring in another midfielder to replace Tchouameni.

The squad has also lost Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu, who has withdrawn with a left hamstring injury. Uncapped right-back Sael Kumbedi has been added to the group in his place.

France were already without a number of other players before the latest withdrawals. William Saliba, Jules Kounde, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Kone, Ousmane Dembele and Esteban Lepaul are also unavailable.

The latest absences leave France with further changes to make before their Nations League matches, with Thuram and Tchouameni among the most recent players to leave the squad.