Lyon striker Delphine Cascarino, injured in a knee on Sunday during the PSG-OL match, will be “absent for several months” and forfeited for the World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand. A heavy loss for coach Hervé Renard, who will not be able to count on the French nugget.
The France team, already weakened by injuries or long convalescences, lost one of its nuggets for the World Cup next summer in Australia and New Zealand, with the inevitable package of striker Delphine Cascarino, hit in the right knee. “It’s a great sadness for her and for the France team. We will do everything to make her very proud of us”, reacted to AFP the coach of the Blue, Hervé Renard, adding: ” she will be missed.”
Delphine Cascarino, an indestructible part of the Bleues
The new coach will have to compose without the Lyon winger with the legs of fire, an indestructible part of the Bleues (56 selections, 14 goals) at 26, perceived as one of the main assets in the quest for a first international title among women. The Lyonnaise’s season ended on Sunday following contact with Parisian Elisa De Almeida during the championship poster and D1 “final” at the Parc des Princes. The verdict fell on Thursday: the French nugget suffers from a “partial rupture of the right anterior common ligament as well as mobility and laxity requiring corrective surgery”, announced OL in a medical press release, specifying that it will be “absent from the grounds for several months”. “With you Delphine,” said teammate Ada Hegerberg, Ballon d’Or 2018.
The tears of the number 20 of OL had feared the worst, and the worst was confirmed after several medical examinations. The periods of unavailability linked to this type of injury make it impossible for him to be in Oceania in July and August. The Cascarino family will only be represented by Estelle, her twin, on the other side of the globe, a great disappointment for Delphine, substitute at the 2019 World Cup in France, then locker room manager and regular starter, behind her shy smiles.
Several players in uncertain form
The grimace soup continues for Hervé Renard, whose plan is thwarted by the uncertain, even worrying, state of form of several players before the announcement of his expanded list, scheduled for June 6. Defender Griedge Mbock, injured since September, is starting from a very long way. Her Lyon team-mate Amandine Henry, on sick leave, has not played since the beginning of March. As for Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the star center-forward of PSG and Les Bleues has been dragging a serious injury since July 2022 and has still not tasted competition again.
The horizon seems clearer for PSG winger Kadidiatou Diani, another star of the selection who suffered from a collarbone injury, whose recovery does not jeopardize his call for the World Cup. “The percentages of feasibility are diverse. If we talk about Kadidiatou Diani, the percentage will be much higher. For Marie-Antoinette, a little less. And then for Griedge, perhaps even a little less”, described Hervé Renard during an interview with AFP on Sunday, a few hours before Cascarino’s injury.
Hervé Renard loses a major asset
The number 20 package represents a heavy loss for Les Bleues, semi-finalists of the last Euro and considered one of the favorite teams for the 2023 World Cup. The twin of Estelle Cascarino, another tricolor international, often acts as a detonator for offensives tricolor thanks to her sudden accelerations, her devastating overflows and her disconcerting dribbles, when she is not herself at the conclusion of the actions. For example, she scored a brace against Colombia (5-2) and delivered an assist for the opener against Canada (2-1) during the last rally in April, the first of the Fox era.
Former coach Corinne Deacon had taken advantage of his versatility, using him sometimes on the left wing, sometimes on the right side when the usual owner of the position, Diani, was absent or repositioned as a center forward. Without Cascarino, Hervé Renard therefore loses a major offensive asset, at the same time as a quiet and consensual personality, two precious qualities during a major competition. The women’s OL, thwarted by numerous injuries this season, will also have to do without his services for the start of the next exercise.
Source: Europe1
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
