PARIS (Reuters) – France have again called up Michael Olise as they prepare for this month’s Nations League games against Israel and Belgium without Kylian Mbappe who has been struggling with injury.
The 22-year-old English-born midfielder won his first two caps against Italy and Belgium last month and in the absence of midfielder Antoine Griezmann, who announced his retirement from international football earlier this week, the Bayern Munich player was once more picked by Didier Deschamps on Thursday.
Captain Mbappe, who picked up a muscle injury last month playing for Real Madrid in LaLiga, featured for 35 minutes in the club’s 1-0 Champions League loss at Lille on Wednesday, but the forward was not deemed fit enough for international duty.
“He has a problem that is not serious. I’m not here to take risks, which is why Kylian isn’t on the list,” Deschamps told a press conference.
Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku was also called up 15 months after claiming his last cap in a 1-0 win against Greece.
France are second in Group A2 with three points from two games, three points behind Italy. They face Israel in Budapest on Oct. 10 and Belgium in Brussels four days later.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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